Never Give In To The Voices (Destiny Fanfiction)
by PegLegDregsNeedTheirMeds
Summary: Few Eliksni remember what life was like before...this. Thousands of years, hundreds, no one really wants to talk about it. The present time was a stale, miserable existence for all but a special few. Some were lucky enough to be saved from the chaos before the Great Machine left. This is the story of one such Eliksni, and his adventures in this violent new world. (Fanfic for my OC)
1. Intro

Never Give Into The Voices Intro

Before written history, before the Great Whirlwind, before the Traveler left, there was triumph, unity, the ability to live instead of survive. Before the Fallen, there was the Eliksni. Equality was granted, differences embraced. There were no strict castes, just Eliknsi. Giant Servitors watched over their mountainous cities, stopping what little crime there was on Eliksnios, their homeworld.

Before the violence, before the ether, before the mandatory service, Eliksni were very different than they are today. They were covered in fur. White fur, the most commonplace, was generally seen from those that dwelled near or at the summit of the mountains. Below them but above the tree line were those that lived among the rocks, taking on a characteristically gray fur. Brown furred Eliksni originated at the bottom of the mountains where their fur blended in with the dirt and lush jungles. Blue Eliksni were mysterious and rather rare. They had white torsos with blue on their backs, a perfect disguise for swimming in the oceans and lakes that covered Eliksnios, but their supposed cities beneath the water were only legend. Each of the different fur types could be seen in almost every settlement, but they generally stayed to their sections of the land because of the Aviasni, airborne predators of the Eliksni and the main evolutionary cause of the Eliknsi's differences. While it was rare for someone to be carried off by one of these reptilian and winged creatures, an unlucky citizen could sometimes be seen being lifted away.

The original Servitors originated from the Traveler. Comparative to the Ghosts Guardians use today, there were far fewer of them than the Eliksni, but their connection to the Traveler allowed each Servitor to relay information to the citizens. Eventually, the Eliksni divided into clans known as "Houses" and called upon select individuals, called Councilors, to meet under the power of the Traveler to discuss their growing differences in a governing body known as "The Council." Trade agreements were made and alliances formed in case of invasion. The largest clan present at the meeting was the House of Devils, a comparatively more barbaric tribe that had forsaken much of the traditional religions and began worshiping the Servitors as their prophets with the Traveler as their God.

After centuries of relative peace, a trade caravan stumbled upon a ruined village bearing Devil banners. Blood spattered the sides of houses and littered the streets, but the physical remains of the Devils were missing. The only things present besides the gore and ruined buildings were a few chitinous plates and a large sword of unique design. Bonds tied by blood immediately rotted away as tension grew. The House of Devil's immediately blamed another large faction known as the House of Wind, known for their innovations to swords and wide use of the weapons. House Rain claimed it knew nothing of the attacks and would do what they could to solve the mystery, but the Devils didn't care. Ties to almost every other House initially kept either of them from moving against the other due to the threat of civil war. Several more villages and even an entire city disappeared under the same circumstances with the same scarce evidence. The once-powerful allies House Wind held quickly deteriorated, danger growing like the evidence mounting against them.

That was when the Traveler left, abandoning the Eliksni and taking with it all of the Light. Blaming the Wind, the Council held a vote to eliminate the House of Wind and end the attacks and bring back the Traveler. The only delegates who voted against the annihilation were those from House Wind; otherwise, it was a unanimous decision.

The fighting was fierce but short lived as the House of Devils led an all-out assault on the House of Wind and destroying them within a month of the actual vote. Despite their elimination, the attacks continued at a rapid pace. Lines were drawn in the sand and new alliances brokered, essentially dividing Eliksnios in an event ultimately known as Nurr Ra'kaah, or the Great Whirlwind, christened after the supposed origin of the attacks, the House of Wind. The Servitors the Traveler gave to the Eliksni remained, cut off from the Light, but they continued making false prophecies, spreading rumors of attacks from other Houses.

Quickly brother turned against brother, house against house, as the House of Devil's invaded several smaller houses in fear that they would consolidate into one House and oppose them. All out civil war broke out shortly thereafter. Blood salted the once-fertile soil of Eliksnios and stained the sand. One House razed another in fierce battles of blades and plasma as Dark influences tainted their minds and ultimately took over each and every one of the Eliksni. War consumed the planet and fires raged throughout the planet as villages became charcoal, and House flags became the tinder on which those within it began to burn. Regional capitals were bombed into oblivion and fields of crops slowly grew sickly and lifeless, much like the Eliksni.

In the midst of starvation, the barbaric Devils stole Ether, a substance from the Servitors used to nurture the young or sick, from hospitals and used it to feed their troops. It became a drug of sorts, extending the amount of energy each soldier had and led them to working harder, faster, and stronger for much longer. Also like a drug, the Devils and the other Houses that adopted this same strategy quickly became addicted to the substance and forced the Servitors to synthesize en masse. Not long after, scouts from the House of Stone discovered strange readings from within one of their volcanoes along with chitin plates and other artifacts similar to those found in the villages destroyed during the Great Whirlwind. It was then that they realized that it was the Hive, ancient beings led by a cruel King and his Son, seeding their world and annihilating millions of their brothers and sisters.

The Stones tried to mount a large alliance to eradicate the Hive infestation, but the leaders of the other Houses killed the messengers in ignorance, claiming this invasion was rubbish and the invitation for peace was a coward's way out. Soon, Hive fleets charged through the atmosphere, cutting divisions in the planet and making their presence undeniable. It was then that an unstable peace was made between the few remaining Fallen Houses to fight off the Hive. Strongholds, bastions, forts, all of Eliksni banners, fell overnight as the underground tunnels of the Hive unleashed their forces from within the bases and destroyed them in quick surprise attacks led by the personal servants of King Oryx.

A massive decree to evacuate the planet and scuttle any remaining military installations echoed throughout what little of Eliksni civilization remained, the Hive already laying claim to over 80% of Eliksnios by this point. Large, heavily armed arks known as "Mega Ketches" or "Motherships" were hastily built and carried off the few remaining billions to escape the clutches of the Hive. Smaller Houses merged with the larger ones to protect themselves, and any left on the forsaken and wartorn planet were quickly exterminated by the Hive.

These Motherships were massive, able to mine nearby asteroids for metals and construct smaller Ketches onboard. The remaining Eliksni more or less thrived in the reaches of space, stealing whatever supplies they could get there hands on and killing any civilization that may or may not have gotten in their way, however the effects of consuming Ether for prolonged lengths of time emerged as the norm: fur loss, wrinkled skin, stunted body growth, and worst of all, a hopeless addiction to Ether. Each pirate unable to survive more than a few days without the elixir produced by the Servitors.

By this time, the Servitors from the Traveler were all but destroyed, and the Fallen, a name derived from an ancient text that first used this word to describe them as they no longer acted or looked like their Eliksni ancestors, reverse engineered there own and created other machines, including their own Servitors and robotic scout units known as Shanks. These "new" Servitors realized the grip they had on the Fallen and quickly used their position to establish a sort of religion or cult around them, quickly converting all of the soldiers to their twisted ways under the threat of Ether deprivation and, ultimately, death. The machines once used to guide the Fallen became their gods, their dictators, almost overnight.

Centuries passed and anything that once made them Eliksni now made them Fallen, pirates as they searched for a new homeworld. Most memories of their past selves dwindled on the brink of legend, and the name Eliksni was all but extinct…

...and the name Heksis was only beginning.


	2. Chapter 1 Homeworld

Yaviks woke up, slowly opening his groggy blue eyes and looking up at the dark gray stone ceiling. The lights slowly came on within a rectangular frame attached to the top edge of the ceiling. The frame was largely the dark wood of the Ramosus tree, but clever plastic work repaired the gashes and splinters where the frame had broken over time.

Yaviks shielded his eyes from the growing light with one arm and draped the other over the side of the bed. His eyes adjusted to the light, he moved his hand up the bed frame and felt the symbols carved into the light-colored Convish wood, tracing each symbol within reach; the symbol of the maker of the bed frame, along with the symbols of the materials used, how much of said materials had been used and where they were obtained. Inside of the bed frame was a large mattress, made from several white fibers woven together. The inside of the mattress had been stuffed full of soft and spongy green lichen that grew on the mountainside, or in small crevices and caves. He never needed a blanket when he slept. The gray fur covering his body provided plenty of warmth, all 4 inches of the silky thick hair protecting him from the cold. He turned to his left to wake up Kelvi, a sleek and smooth white furred Eliksni, with a beautiful and soft face, small but cute looking mandibles, spectral blue eyes that shined like the stars in the dark night sky and a slender and curved body, with her shoulders and hips much smoother and smaller than his. She was a defining example of Eliksni beauty. He knew exactly what she looked like in his mind. He was dedicated to his mate like that, and she was dedicated to him as well. She wasn't lying there next to him though. His mandibles vibrated against each other slightly, blinking his eyes as he vibrated them, an indicator of happiness for eliksni. He knew exactly where she had gone.

He lifted his head forward, moving his body up so he was sitting on the bed, with his legs stretched out in front of him on the bed. He put his lower right hand on the edge of the bed, swinging his body over so his legs were facing the right side of the bed, lowering his knees down and putting his feet on the cold stone floor of the floor. Their home was divided into several different chambers. Bedroom, Kitchen, Living room, and Nursery. The bedroom was the smallest, with the whole room only 8 steps wide and 7 steps long. Steps were one of the measurements for Eliksni. One step was the size of an eliksni's foot. And almost all Eliksni had an almost identical foot size. At least when it came to age. A 50 year old Eliksni would obviously have larger feet than a 2 year old Eliksni. The elders of the village would be the ones who measured everything. These highly respected elders were usually around 150 years of age and had seen life over that vast amount of time change, minutely and en mass. They offered their wisdom to those who sought it, including measurements.

He got his lower arms and put both on the bed next to his hips, pushing himself off of the tightly woven white mattress and standing up on his feet. The bedroom didn't have any doors, the only way into the room was a large oval shaped hole in the wall in front of the bed, which led into the living room. On the left side of the living room was the kitchen, and on the right side was the nursery, which was still freshly carved out of the thick mountain rock. He turned to his left, walking forward and over to the exit of the bedroom. The ceiling wasn't very high, all he'd need to do was jump and he'd hit his head. His bright glowing eyes shined in the darkness, letting him look around and know where he was going. He lifted a foot up, stepping through the oval shaped hole, before pulling himself through.

The living room wasn't too unique. It was a large circular room, with a ceiling slightly higher than the bedroom. He could jump without bumping his head here but did not unless he had good reason to. In the room was a large wooden table in the corner directly to the left as he walked out of the bedroom made out of more polished wood known as "Chelcidetra" or wood of the Chelci. Chelci meant stone in the Eliksni language. The wood was hard and firm, expensive because of the time and effort it took to mine and transport the material. The Chelci trees grew around the lower parts of the mountain, which were nowhere near as cold and windy as the summit, in harsh conditions. The table had two chairs, both made of the same material as the table with the backs of the chairs cut squarely. The legs of the chair were circular, like wooden poles. Both of the chairs belonged to him and Kelvi. The other chair was different. Much smaller, much smoother, with a large cushion of woven fiber on the seat, the arms of the chair and back of the chair. Several small straps were on the arms and the back of the seat.

Kelvi had gone crazy with the baby equipment. Ever since she had given birth to their precious son, she had been working feverishly to make the infant's world the most beautiful and fun it could be. Yaviks found it a bit naive, but he was certainly not about to rain on her parade. The fact that she had carved an entire room out of stone just for him was just one of the things she had done. She spent several hundred, perhaps closer to a thousand, decats on things for the baby. Toys, a crib, everything. He remembered her setting out one day what seemed like a long time ago with a small brown bag of the small, silver coins. In her hand was one of the coins; Yaviks could clearly visualize each symbol carved around the square hole in the center. Merchants would stack their coins together on small square shaped poles or walking sticks, or string them together with string to show how successful their day had been as a sort of informal competition.

He and his mate made about 700 decats a year. But they could only keep 300 of them for their own personal use as over half of it was spent on the necessities, almost double the amount from before they had a child.

The living room had a large holo projector in the far left corner, which was turned off at the moment. There was a large couch in front of the cube shaped holoprojector. The couch was made out of dark gray leather, which was made from an Aviasni, a large winged beast that often preyed upon foolish Eliksni who traveled along the wrong paths without a weapon or guard. Yaviks was a merchant guard. Merchants would pay him to guard their merchandise and themselves while they traveled the paths that connected the villages. The couch was made from the hide of an Aviasni that had been attacking villages and merchants for about a decade. He'd made the long climb to the nest of the beast along with 3 other merchant guards. They'd found about a dozen bones there in that dark and disgusting cave, along with several crates and bags full of merchandise. Most of them were busted open. They were full of packaged foods, from green lichen to Juv meat. He'd slain the beast himself, firing his crude shrapnel launcher into the beast's head, one of his finer moments.

Yaviks turned to his right, looking at the large oval shaped hole that led into the nursery, he could hear Kelvi right now, taking care of their child happily.

"Yeah. That's where you sleep. It's called a crib. Can you say crib?" He heard his mate say, with a small voice replying back with a small "sleeep kib". He walked over to the hole and stepped into the room, looking to his right again, seeing Kelvi sitting in the corner on her knees, with his son sitting in the corner, making small giggling noises.

The room was a large cube with various items for a growing baby inside. The floor, walls, and ceiling had been scraped relentlessly until Yaviks could slide a few hefty rocks across its surface. He looked over at Kelvi, who was sitting on the floor on her knees, all of her brilliant white fur standing out from the darkness.

Their son was very similar, sitting in the corner with his arms wrapped around himself and his fleshy purple tongue hanging out of his mouth slightly. His eyes stood out the most, all four of them massive compared to his small head. Like his parents, the child had thick fur on almost every part of his body. Each hair was around five inches in length but refrained from tangling somehow without the accumulation of oils Yaviks and Kelvi had on theirs. This fur was thick, meant to keep him warm in the cold and shorten as he grew into maturity. The only visible epidermis was that around his bright blue eyes and his mandibles, which was light gray in color. All four of those eyes quickly looked in his direction, looking up at his face. Kelvi noticed this, and soon lifted herself up and turning around to face her mate.

"Morning Yav." She said casually, with her mandibles vibrating before she spoke. She was wearing small and thin cloth around her body, with her arms sticking out of the four holes in the sided of her shirt.

"Morning Kelvi. How is he doing?" He asked his mate, taking a step forward before slowly crouching down, getting on his knees and looking at the pup. Kelvi quickly joining in, getting on her knees next to him.

"He is doing great. He's quite an eater too. He's only two months old now and he's already eaten 2 small strips of Juv. Normally pups start eating solid meat during their fourth month. You think we should start thinking of a name for him now?" Kelvi said softly, not wanting to startle the pup in any way. Eliksni didn't name their children until they had been alive for a few months. Made it easier for the parents if the child perished prematurely, but that was extremely uncommon, usually the result of an Aviasni . Just an old tradition from when things weren't so peaceful and safe. Disease was rare in the village, violence even more so, and all out war was a despised past viewed as barbaric. Any dispute was usually snuffed out by the villages servitor a few days after it was reported.

"You did your research..." Yaviks muttered, with his mandibles pressed together happily in agreement and approval. Two strips of meat already? They must've been really small strips…

"I'm thinking of something nice. Something peaceful. Jeversis maybe." Kelvi suggested. Yav simply paused for a moment, thinking of a name for the pup.

"I'd like to name him after my father Hekelas. Still wish I had his guidance..." Yavik's replied, bringing up his father, who had passed away two years ago in his sleep. Hekelas had been wise and very popular among the people. Yavik could already see the great things their son would ultimately achieve, could see him sitting in the chair of the elders as the head of their village.

Hekelas or something that sounds similar to that would do. It would carry along the honor that his grandfather had established for their family line.

They both looked down at the pup, who was staring at them both adorably, his lower arms wrapped around himself, his top left arm hanging at his side, and his top right arm shoved in his mouth, with the pup moving his little three fingered hand around in his mouth, with his mandibles messily covering his tiny hand with saliva, all of his teeth nothing but small little stubs barely poking out of the fleshy gums. The pup pulled his hand out and wiped it on his fur before wrapping all of his arms around himself again, smearing all that saliva around his bright white fur, causing the wet fur to mat down and darken somewhat, like he had water on a small piece of him.

Kelvi let out a small chuckle both at their pup's behavior and their predicament. She'd always been the more humorous of the two. "Well then," she said, her mandibles curling into an even bigger smile. "It seems like we're at an impasse."

"Maybe we can put those together somehow. Compromise?" Yaviks suggested. He turned his gaze away from the child for a moment, meeting Kelvi's eyes for only a mome

"Jevelas? Hekersis? Hekver? Kesis?" Yaviks quickly listed, lifting all the name combinations that immediately came to mind.

Kelvi thought for a moment, tossing each of those within her head but finding none of them suitable for their first child. "How does Heksis sound to you?" Kelvi asked, gently crawling over to the pup in the corner of the polished gray room. Once she made it, she turned around, leaning her back against the wall and picking up the pup by the scruff of his furry neck, lifting him up and setting him down on her lap, with the pup getting set down, falling back slightly on his bottom and turning his head around and looking up at his mother, quietly barking out a small "Nug...Nug." at her, with his mandibles pressing together.

"Nug?" Kelvi cooed in a warm and calming voice, slowly grabbing their baby again, lifting him up with one of her arms and slowly turning him around so he was facing her, before bringing him over and resting the pup on her chest, leaning back slightly so he didn't slide down while Yaviks stood there on his knees thinking for a moment.

It was his turn to toss the name around mentally. Heksis. There was something about it that imbued power and commanded respect from others. "Yes. Heksis sounds perfect." Kelvi's mate finally muttered, looking over at her and blinking at her in approval. The female Eliksni quickly leaned her head down, gently resting her head on the back of her child's head, their white fur brushing against each other. The pup simply let out a few gentle squeaks, exhaling loudly before beginning to relax and trying to take a nap on her despite just waking up.

"Heksis. That's your name...do you like your name?" She asked quietly, bringing her arms up to him and holding the small furry pup against her chest with her arms. The baby simply let out a few sleepy grunts in response before exhaling loudly against his mother's chest as he napped.

"I think he likes it." Yaviks responded, pressing his mandibles together as he watched at his mate hold Heksis gently as she leaned against the wall. He looked at the clock hung above the crib. "We ought to get going, or we'll be late. Heksis should be fine while we're gone." Yaviks suggested, turning to his left, and looking at the crib. It was a large with the bottom made of several soft pillows. Two toys were laid around the bin around the pillows, currently the Heksis' favorite toys, but that was almost certain to change within the next week or so. One was a small star, colored yellow and had a plush, huggable quality to its appearance. However, the outer layer was tougher than what one would expect, the perfect material for a chewing/teething toy. The second one was simply a small mirror, mounted on the side, with plastic over the mirror to make sure Heksis couldn't hurt himself in any way, but he'd still found ways to knock the mirror off and test the plastic's durability.

"I'm on leave for two months to take care of the baby. And you got a promotion. You're captain of your merchant guard group now. But your normal path got blocked off by snow. So your gonna be doing a delivery to another village that isn't too far away." She said calmly, still resting her head on her pup's head gently, not even moving it an inch.

Yaviks simply stood there for a moment, his mandibles no longer pressed together and instead gently spread out in surprise. Captain? That was not only a great honor but also a great responsibility. He'd have to watch over all 14 of the merchant guards and command them all. He was worried he wouldn't be able to do it right. What if he somehow ordered one of the guards to their deaths? No. It couldn't be that hard. All he'd need to do was make sure no one strayed too far ahead of the merchant carts, or fell behind them. Stay close to the cart. Strength in numbers. It was rare for any guards to die anyways. Mainly because so many of them had been guarding merchants all their lives. It was decent money for little risk, but that's also why there were so many companies and squadrons offering their services.

"Why'd nobody tell me about this?" He asked, leaning his head slightly to the right in a confused looking way.

"You were out when the old Captain stopped by yesterday. He was apparently retiring. Good thing too, he looked like he was in rough shape. My boss said he'd been doing it for like 40 years and both of them thought you were the best man for the job." She said quietly, still resting her head on Heksis.

"Kovahn always had a knack for showing up at inopportune times. More importantly, how does Tebisk know all these things? It's like he knows everything about everybody." He asked, moving his head back to its normal position on his shoulders as he spoke.

"Knowing things like that helps him with business. You know how it is. Gotta care about your customers and employees..." She replied, with Heksis now fully asleep, all four of his beady blue eyes shut completely as he laid on her and his little chest rising and falling gently with each deep breath.

"Yeah. I guess. I'll thank him if I see him." Yav said, responded in a somewhat grateful tone. Kolah had always struck him as somewhat suspicious. He was a shady character who often found himself getting into all sorts of trouble that the Servitors wound up sorting out. He'd met him before in a brief exchange, but Yav never forgot a face. He just didn't know where he lived or pretty much anything beyond his name and occupation. Maybe he lived in his office? He might. He had a business to oversee after all.

"You don't have to leave quite yet. Besides, I haven't eaten anything yet. And I'm sure Heksis would want something to eat when he wakes up." She asked as the pup began to snore lightly on her. The snore sounded like Yaviks when he slept, except much softer. The pup kept making a "Kuff...Kuf...Kuffffff..." sound as he slept, with Kelvi finally lifting her head up off of him and turning to speak to her mate.

"Okay. What do you want?" Yav replied, shaking his head around slightly to regain his focus, all of the fur around his head swinging around slightly as he did before settling back to the way it was before.

"Anything really. Maybe just some bread. Get the baby bottle in the icebox too. Its been in there for a few minutes so it should be ready." She asked quietly, with the pup sleeping against her letting out a small tender grunt in response.

"I'll get him his bottle. You..." Yaviks stared at the two of them for a moment, both mother and child sitting there happily, with Kelvi leaning against the wall and their pup laying on her making little huff noises as it snored. Eliksni children had much more fur than they needed. Helped their bodies develop better. Heksis was just a snowball. A big furry snowball from his point of view. He couldn't help but press his mandibles together in happy approval of his life so far. Captain of a merchant guard group. A mate that loves him. Now a pup. Heksis sounded like a nice name. Good compromise. It didn't really matter too much though right? A name was just a name. The person is what mattered. Yaviks wondered what the pup would grow up to be. Their society had many roles and jobs to fill. Scribe, miner, teacher, merchant, farmer, maybe even Hunter if he was really tough and crafty. All he hoped was that he wouldn't join in with any of the Devil hermits or whatever...all just religious zealots who walked all the way to the city where the Great Machine resided. Yes...walked. On eliksnios. A planet where tall high altitude mountains were everywhere the eye could see and the lower regions of their world were hidden by a thick cloak clouds. Beneath were jungles and oceans, untouched by the society high up in the mountains, with the occasional toy or useless junk being throw off, which would quickly be destroyed and repurposed by the massive ecosystem below the mountains. Devils were a nuisance. Always following the local servitor around, begging for the floating orbs "blessing" for safe passage. Most of the time they just hitched a ride on any ships that were flying to a city that was closer to the traveler. They would pray to the servitors at every village they visited. Every. Single. One.

Most Eliksni weren't the overly religious type. Not like the Devils were. The Devils were dedicated to whatever they believed in and ignored anything that contradicted their beliefs. For most Eliksni, worship was measured by how many arms you had. The more arms you had...the more connected to the gods you were. 4 arms was as the maximum amount. And...everyone had four arms. Losing arms was a dishonor. A punishment for criminals who murdered, raped or stole from their fellow Eliksni. Lower arms cut off and exiled to a small hut far away from the village. Or thrown off the mountain. But...it was so rare. He'd only seen a fallen with stumps for arms once in his life. That was mostly due to the Great Machine's peacekeepers. The Servitors watched over them, kept them safe, let them all live long happy lives. The giant floating spheres had always been there. It was said that they had been crafted by the Great Machine itself. How close to the truth was that that?

He brushed off those thoughts for later, now he needed to remember what Kelvi wanted. Bread...and a bottle, baby bottle full of ether or milk. Yeah. Having to ask the village's servitor for milk every 12 hours was tiresome, and Kelvi didn't like giving ether to her baby. Ether was only something he'd tried when his leg got hurt bad by a fly by from an Aviasni. Just flew on by and scratched his leg with one of its large claws. Half the leg was torn off. Right down to the bone and marrow, purplish red blood dripping from his body and being exposed to the world. They'd made it to the village they were going to just in time. 12 days. That's all it took. All the servitor did was lift him up with whatever levitation power it had and stick a tube down his throat. The taste wasn't that bad either. Like a thick nectar of some kind. Soft but thick with hints of sugary flavor on every drop. Ether would be heated up once it entered his body, helping the blood flow and whatever strange nanomachines or proteins or whatever get to the wounds. Made him feel like he could do anything for a day or two after the servitor had let him go. The rush, the slight pull to get more. Yaviks was thankful the servitor was a floating machine, or else it's abilities could be used for less helpful things. Drugs? He'd dabbled in a few in his youth, nipping the occasional herb. That was as far he went really. He'd heard of a few parties or events in the bigger town north of this village that would do drugs or alcoholic drinks. He hoped their pup never got into any of that.

Yav walked into the kitchen, a small horizontal oval shaped room, with a large rectangular shaped container directly to the left going all the way up to the ceiling, all covered in a clean white paint. The top of it was also rectangular and clean. The rest really didn't matter to Yav at the moment. Get food. Get milk. Think later. Yaviks wandered over to the icebox, quickly reaching down and pulling it open, with a large gust of wind quickly rushing out, blowing the hair on his head back as the cold air blew into his face. The cold air was coming down from the large tube running down the inside of the icebox, with a small mesh-like tray holding the contents of the icebox up, above another hole that led down and would let out all the remaining air elsewhere. It was a relatively simple system. Dig a hole all the way up to the top of the mountain, where the cold and fast wind blew and would hit you like a punch, dig until you reach the area you want it to be, connect some smaller tunnels to an icebox, and continue digging below the icebox and let all the wind left exit from a small hole in the side of the mountain. It was difficult to get done. To say the least. The tray held up several goods that you would want to keep frozen, meat, milk, all that.

Yav's four eyes wandered for a bit before finding the bottle, which was a small orb shaped bottle, with a small little cap on the top where the sucker or whatever it was was at. Kelvi had stopped breastfeeding awhile ago, Eliksni had the "grow up fast and live long" style of living. Not much threatened them. Only accidents and the animals they shared their world with. But the animals weren't to blame. Just doing what they had to do to survive. The gray furred Eliksni reached in and grabbed the glass bottle with his lower left arm, immediately turning around and shutting the door with the other lower hand, turning around to get the bread. The other part of the kitchen was normal too. A simple counter, with several drawers built into the bottom of it. He walked over to the counter, crouching down and opening the bread drawer, which was the last drawer on the bottom right. He slid the small wooden out of the stone counter, immediately seeing one small loaf of light green bread and grabbing it with his other lower arm gently. Lichen bread. Several people in the village grew lichen on their farms. It was the main food for Eliksni. The human equivalent of wheat. All the lichen was tightly pressed together into the shape of a small rectangular cube, and heated up so all of the fiber and other yummy stuff stuck together perfectly. It was a crude thing. Ever since the Great Machine had arrived great technological advances had been made. Spacecraft, energy tools, hovercraft, and several other high tech devices. But that futuristic technology was rare out here. Holographic projectors, levitating vehicles, most of these things had already been created before the Great Machine arrived. The giant floating orb's arrival only helped improve what was already made.

A small metal box was set on the table, with several small curves on the corners and a small antenna sticking out of the middle, with the speakers on the top. Radio tech had been a thing for quite a while. And even though holo shows were popular, Yav still kept the radio his father had always used. He had already been turned around to walk over to Kelvi and Heksis, but decided to turn back around toward the radio, casually strolling over toward it with baby bottle and green bread in both lower hands. He turned around again, and jumped back slightly and sat on the cold metal counter on the left side of the radio, with his upper right hand quickly wandering over to the radio and turning it on, tuning the frequency for a little bit to find the news channel. The small twitch of static ended as he turned to the news channel's frequency.

"-oal is currently unknown, but House Of Devils currently has several of its members moving to neighboring towns, the ones we have spoken to claim to be making a pilgrimage to Council city, but...this has received a negative response by Houses Wind, Exile, Rain, Kings, and Scar, who brought some of their guards to Council City, claiming that this pilgrimage could be a potential surprise attack, and that all Devil's should be searched thoroughly before allowed entry into Council City. The decision to search Devils visiting Council City is still being decided by the Council. Back to you Jebriks." A loud and young Eliksni voice said. That was new. They must be new. Yavik's listened for a moment, but the talk about the Devils quickly made Yav think about the Devils once again even though he said he'd save those thoughts for later.

He'd seen three of them in the village just this week! An attack seems possible too. House Devils does have the strongest army on the planet. Did they want to take over Council city? Take the Great Machine for themselves? Other houses had armies, but they were ceremonial...war was unheard of ever since all the houses had joined together and wiped out whatever Houses had foolishly decided to not join them. It was horrible. Barbaric. But Eliksni weren't like that anymore, the Great War had ended long ago. A metallic and robotic voice quickly joined in, belonging to the radio channels weather reporter, a servitor by the name of Jebriks-31. The concept of the floating machine reporting the weather in front of one of those big weather reporting maps always amused him.

"Jebriks is glad to report the weather today. Weather will be snowy and windy like always. Jebriks jokes. Jubelisk region will be at a cozy -40 degrees, with the nearby Keteer and Grinar at -56 degrees and in the way of a small blizzard. Last of all... The entire Nills region will be a very low -80, so move quickly when out of shelter Eliksni.

Back-" The floating orb reported, speaking in the strange way of speaking Servitors always spoke in. Before it could finish its voice was interrupted by another voice, which was distant and not as close to the microphone as the Servitor but still audible enough for Yaviks to hear.

"Notice me..." A raspy voice said, speaking in a highly religious but slightly slurred voice.

"SECURITY!" The servitor shrieked in its low metallic voice, with a small squawk being heard and a thump as whoever had interrupted the floating machine was likely pinned down to the ground and dragged out of the building for trespassing on private property.

"We...just had a Devil trespass on the second floor. The intruder has been taken care of now. Back to Chelchis." The servitor said in a slightly nervous or surprised voice, but still sounding very close to what it had sounded like before in a way.

"Okay...well...latest information from our scribes at Bejer academy...modified Juv's have been made in the labs that...could possibly provide three times the meat that normal Juv can. Research is-" Yaviks shut off the radio, tuning the small circle to the left until the static and short sounds of other radio channels was silenced. He'd have to tell Kelvi about this. He slowly slid off the counter, walking out of the kitchen, through the living room, and stopping just outside of the nursery, hearing a small and adorable squeak from behind him where the table was and turning around, seeing Kelvi quietly sitting in the chair on the right side of the table, with the baby chair holding Heksis on the front of the table between Kelvi and his chair, which was pushed out slightly so he could sit down and wouldn't have to pull the chair out. His mate only gave him a small casual wave with her mandibles vibrating against each other happily. Yav quickly corrected himself, turning around again and walking over to the wooden table, with Kelvi's eyes following him the whole time. He walked over to her, bringing the small piece of bread up and holding it up in front of her, with her quietly taking it from his hand, giving it a small nibble as she turned to look at him.

"You wanna bottle feed him? It's not hard. He won't bite you." Kelvi muttered, eyes wandering down to the baby bottle in his lower right hand. Kelvi moved her small cute head over in Hek's direction for a second.

"You won't bite him right? He's your dada..." She said in her baby voice, talking with her words mispronounced and childish but understandable enough. Heksis had gone from a deep nap to a small snooze, with the rest of his eyes closed, except his far right eye, which was open slightly, just enough for him to see. He moved his head in his mommy's direction, looking at her, letting out a small giggle and slowly opening up the rest of his eyes. The giggle was adorable to Kelvi and Yavik. A cute little "haehehhehheh" that sounded like a squeak but was still loud enough for it to pass as a giggle.

"I don't know. What if I hurt him somehow?" Yaviks muttered nervously, looking over at Heksis, who had now opened all four of his big bright eyes, all of which stared back at him, all blue eyes looking at him with what looked like curiosity and awe.

"Do you think you would hurt this precious little furball of love and happiness?" She asked.

"Not intentionally. Never." Yav replied, shaking his head as he spoke.

"Exactly. So give him his bottle. Hold it for him." Kelvi ordered, maintaining her compassionate voice, but with a little hint of small impatience in her voice. Just hold him and bottle feed him. She'd been doing it for awhile. Than again. She'd spent most of her free time taking care of Heksis.

Yaviks gave her a small nod before walking over to the other side of the table, bringing the chair out and lifting it up, bringing it back over to Kelvi's side and setting it down next to Heksis, who had already started to stick his hand in his mouth, making a few small quiet gurgling noises as he moved his hand around in his mouth messily. The Eliksni sat down, pressing down the robes he was wearing against the chair and using them like a small cushion all around his waist and back.

"Can you give him to me?" He asked nervously, with Kelvi giving him a small nod before getting out of her seat, picking up Heksis by the scruff of his neck and lifting him out of the seat, moving him and gently setting him down on his waist. Yav gently lifted him up as well, cradling Heksis with his lower arms, and bringing the bottle in his top right hand and showing it to Heksis, who quickly reached out for it, snatching it out of his hand and beginning to suck from the bottle greedily, holding the bottle all on his own. Yav simply stood there and held the end of the bottle, watching the pup nurse quietly, while Kelvi went back into her seat, sitting down and scooting forward a bit so she could see Heksis better.

"Thirsty little one isn't he? Don't let him drink it all at once." She suggested, with her and him staring at Heksis as he drank, before Yav gently pulled the bottle away from Heksis, who let out a small grunt of protest before reaching all four of his tiny little arms out for it, wanting more of it. He let out a small burp so Yaviks quickly patting him on his back, doing his best to look like he knew what he was doing despite the fact that he hadn't held his pup that much ever since he'd been born. Yaviks was busy. Sometimes merchant guarding could take weeks or months. The villages were usually close together. Only about a thousand steps or more. Most of the time he'd make a trip to a "village cluster" which was very similar to where he lived, except all the villages were built next to each other so trade between villages was easier.

"That should be enough. Now...you wanna get going to that village? Captain Yavik?" She asked, looking at Heksis and holding her arms out slightly, silently asking for him to hand the pup over to her. The captain part was said in a softer voice, with a hint of congratulations and respect. She already respected him...but it was clear that his promotion had given him even more respect from her. Lovely.

"Y-Yeah. But...do you want me to stay a little longer?" He asked, slight anxiety beginning to build up in his voice. To greet the rest of his fellow guards as captain...friends he'd been with for most of his life, how could he act as if he was better than them? He'd seen captains do that before, acting as if their minds and bodies mattered more than those around them. No. He wouldn't be like that. They'd respect him. Be happy for him. If not...then he wouldn't know what to do. He'd figure it out.

"I do. But the sooner you get this done the better. You could take Heksis outside. He hasn't been outside yet...Y'know, just show him the outside world, then just give him back to me and you get going." She offered, holding Heksis out for him once again, upper hands holding him right between his top and bottom arms. It was softer there. Both of them stood up from their chairs together, eyes meeting. Most Eliksni were born in caves, Heksis was no different. It was tradition for the father of the child to be the ones to take them outside for the first time, alone. But tradition didn't restrict them. And most families would have the father be the one who played with the child the most. But because of Yav's job...he couldn't do that. So Kelvi had been to one to play with Heksis. And she deserved praise. Forget tradition. His mate deserved this. He made most of the money, which she used to buy stuff for Hek, and she gave their child as much as she could, as best as she could.

"You sure you don't want to show him? You've earned it." He asked, with a few negative thoughts beginning to form in his mind. Aviasni? He didn't know. They never attacked the village. But there was a chance of it. A rare one. But a chance nonetheless.

"I'm sure. You should do it." She insisted, holding Hek out for him still, all four of his big spectral eyes on him. Kelvi was a traditionalist in a few things. But there were some traditions she didn't follow, and this was not one of them.

Yaviks simply gave her a small nod."You deser-"

"It isn't that big of a deal. You show them the world Yaviks. After all you are a merchant guard. You would know what's out there better than me..." She said, saying them in a seductive way. She held out the pup one more time, and Yaviks took him, pulling him against his chest and holding him there gently, with his eyes staring at her as he began to take a step toward him. "Them? M-More pups?" He thought to himself, slightly cringing at the thought, worried he couldn't handle the amount Kelvi wanted to have. He'd never sleep again if it was a ridiculous amount.

She walked up closer to him, her lean and slender body only a few inches away from his. They both wore clothes over their bodies, thin brown cloth covering that offered no insulation at all. It was simply meant to cover the body.

"There's plenty more coming up Yav..." She said in her seductive voice, the one that made Yav's mind swirl, clouded with thoughts of his mate. He simply stood there as she brushed her hips against him, walking past him back into the kitchen.

"I'll be waiting at the door once you show him. Don't keep that furball out there for too long. Remember...he isn't ready to be outside yet" She said in her normal voice as she walked into the kitchen, probably to make Heksis a surprise of some kind. Who knows. Either way...Yav wished he could be with them more. Give Heksis as much time with him as the little furball could get.

Yaviks was about to reply when he felt his lower mandibles gently jerk down, with a small little three fingered hand holding it. He brought his hand up, putting it on Hek's arm and looking down at the pup, who was staring up at his chin like it was some kind of toy.

"No pull." Yaviks mumbled, with Heksis responding with another gentle tug at his mandible, giving out a small giggle as Yaviks turned toward the door, a thin wooden door, which was shaped like a large rectangle. Yaviks walked up to it, with Heksis letting go of his lower mandible on the way to the door. Holding Heksis and opening the door was difficult, since he wouldn't risk dropping him. He held him in all four arms, before dropping the left arm nervously, holding Heksis tightly in the other three as he opened the door, with a thick chilly breeze blowing into the room as soon as he did. After their eyes adjusted to the light, Yaviks looked around the outside of the home, hoping Hek would follow.

The view was a beautiful one...large snow covered mountains far off in the distance, several dozen large round clumps of green lichen growing out of the thick white snow. The mountain was covered in it, with thick snowflakes falling down, adding to the already thick pile that covered the mountain as far as the eyes could see.

The home was built on the edge of the mountain, carved under a large gray stone. Yaviks took a few steps forward, climbing up the small set of stairs that led into the home and looking around, making sure to not slip on the ice. The village they lived in was beautiful, at least to Yav. Around 600 homes in total, built on the mountain top or inside the trading hub. Some were made of metal, some wood, but all were built to last. The village had been built shortly after the Great War, and grown larger ever since. In front of Yav were two small rectangular shaped homes, carved out of stone and connected together. Several other similar homes could be found all around. But they had the most space in their "yard" which was marked by a small stick in the ground. They had an area around the edge of the top of the mountain all to themselves. And Yavik liked it that way. Heksis looked around as well, four spectral blue eyes looking around the world, from the occasional snowflake all the way up to the bright gray and white sky.

"Beautiful...isn't it little one? The light?" He said, hoping that all the developing sentience in the pups little mind could hear and remember. Heksis simply let out a small and short grunt as he looked around at the world around him. The pup was trying to echolocate, but the cold winds prevented him. He'd have to rely on his eyes here.

"World doesn't feel right without an echo...now does it? Don't worry. The darkness is always there for you. You can go back to the caves whenever you want." He said, bringing a hand up and patting the child on his head, moving it around and stroking the fur as he held him with the other three arms.

"Kurr?" Heksis grunted, to which Yav responded by rubbing his head against the pup, who rewarded him with a small chomp on his forehead, all of his harmless toothless gums getting saliva all over his forehead. Lovely…

Yaviks pulled his head away, shaking his head slightly to get rid of the saliva. Heksis looked up at him for a moment, before leaning his head back and beginning to cry and squawk...like a baby would. The pup continued to make loud squawking noises, which Yav moving back down the stairs and back into the house, the male heard a small creak as Kelvi opened the door, eyes slightly wide with concern before returning back to normal, now holding her arms out and waiting for Heksis to be handed to her. Yaviks complied, taking Heksis and grabbing him between his upper and lower arms like she had done, handing the pup to his mate, who quickly scooped him up.

"Someone needs a nap..." She muttered to the baby, bringing the pup up to her neck and nuzzling him quietly, with his mate making a calming cooing noise, which quickly began to calm the pup down.

"Your good at calming him down..." Yaviks muttered, looking at his mate quietly as she held the pup. She simply looked at her with a small smile on her face. "Okay...shall I get going?" Yaviks asked.

"Yeah. It'll be quick right?"

"If it's a close village I should be back by midnight." He muttered, not sure himself about how long it would take.

"Okay. Try to get it done as fast as you can but be careful!" She said with a small grin on her mandibles, with Yaviks leaning into her slightly, making sure he wouldn't bump against Heksis as they leaned in for a quick kiss.

Eliksni kisses were complicated, and difficult to pull off if they weren't careful. Their mandibles were adapted for a life in the snowy mountains of their homeworld, and their food consisted of small animals and lichen, an omnivorous diet. A few sharp teeth at the end of the mandibles, and about a dozen larger human like teeth, used for grinding up lichen to make digestion easier. The two pressed their foreheads together, moving their mandibles against one another and curling them around each other in a gentle kiss. They held it for a few seconds before pulling back, eyes still locked on each other. Heksis simply laid in his mother's arms, one eye looking at Yav with the rest closed shut. The baby looked at him for a few seconds before closing the one eye he had open, leaning his head against his mother's neck and grunting as she nuzzled her chin against his puffy white head.

"I will. Love you Kelvi" He said passionately as he shut the door, hearing a small "love you too" from his mate as he closed the door.

It normally wouldn't matter to Yav, leaving for a short trip like this. But now that they had Heksis...he'd need to spend more time with them. Shorter trips. No more long hauls like last time. No. He'd give his child as much time as he could. Maybe even buy him something. Yes. He'd get something for him. A toy or something.

Kelvi wanted him back soon. And he wanted to be... But he couldn't rush through this job. That just left them exposed and that could make things even more dangerous. He'd take his time. Rather be late than never come back at all. He turned away from the door, looking at the small set of stairs that would get him up to ground level. He let out a small huff before walking up them, with another gust of cold wind blowing against him from his left. It was late in the morning, so most of the inhabitants of the village had awoken, likely heading over to the village square, where merchants and traders would come through and set up shop. And most villagers liked to gather there just to socialize as well. It was a small village...pretty much everyone knew each other. So new faces coming through to trade and sell were welcome guests.

He began to walk casually before speeding up a bit to work his way around the two connected stone homes to get home soon as he could. He'd be careful…

He walked around the corner of the left home, with another gust of cold wind blowing from around the corner as he did. He didn't stop for it though. The gray fur protected him from the cold winds. It didn't bother him at all.

Behind the two connected homes was a small mountain, far enough for it to be unseen from their little home on the edge of the mountain, but big enough for it to be turned into a nice little hub for the entire village. A snow covered road connected the trading hub's entrance, which was a large tunnel build into the small mountain. The tunnel was designed in a way that kept the snow out. And if snow did block it somehow, several small hatches were build into the sides just in case. Several buildings were built onto the sides of the road or around the mountain that was the trading hub, large pointed cones, with the tips pointing up to the sky. Snow slid off the buildings easily, with a large pile of it surrounding the home like a ring.

The rich, the businesses, the mining guilds, even some inns for travelers, all standing tall and proud. Time for Yav to start walking...

It didn't take long for him to make it there, only about a minute of fast running, which Yaviks was able to do easily thanks to his small but dense build. Soon as he arrived at the tunnel, he stopped, making light panting noises as he stood in front of the tunnel. The tunnel was completely unguarded, and Yav simply strolled right in, walking down to the end of the tunnel, which was a large cloth curtain, with light from the inside of the hub leaking out from below the curtain. He could hear the shouts and gentle squawks of the hub as he walked forward, he turned his head to observe the wall on his side, reading the graffiti written on the granite wall to pass the time as he walked into the hub. The graffiti wasn't everywhere, only a few dozen on the walls of the tunnel. Things like "Kora was here" or "Devils go away!" were written. Most of it was just names. Everyone wanted to leave their mark. Some just did it in more artistic or orthodox ways. The graffiti hadn't been painted over. In fact...the elders of the village probably welcomed it. He walked up to the thick cloth curtain, standing in front of it before casually sliding forward through it the small line of light in the middle. Once he stepped inside his eyes were immediately welcomed with the bright white lights of the hub, blinding him for a few seconds before his eyes adjusted, with his bright blue eyes cooling down and losing their intensity. The blue eyes of Eliksni were a lot like goggles, adapted to keep the eyes at a reasonable temperature, melting the occasional snow flake that fell on the eye into liquid. Eliksni had adapted to live on their homeworld, whose temperature could go from bone-chilling to roasting depending on where you were. The fact that most of the ecosystem resided below the mountains meant that most needed to be able to adapt to pressure changes to venture down to the oceans and jungles below was only proof of their resistance to the environment.

The trading hub was a large mess of shouts, squawks and laughs. The hub was a large dome shaped room, about a hundred meters in radius all crafted from inside the mountain. Several large stone pillars in the middle held the mountain up in case it fell. But that seemed unlikely. Several gravity wells were also scattered across the large stone dome. On the sides of the hub were several little stores, which were small little tents or tarps held up by sticks. Underneath were several different goods, all laid out in baskets and on tables. Freshly harvested green lichen were piled up in large wooden baskets. Strips of meat hung from the hooks of the butcher shops, some still dripping purplish red blood. Fresh meat was a delicacy, especially since the effort required to get it was tremendous. Furniture was laid out in front of the shops, with the owners sitting in chairs, watching over their wooden crafts and waiting for a customer.

Right to his left was a small little shop, covered in blue tarp, with a large table in the front. On the table were several little toys, crafted out of string and buttons in a beautiful way. The toys were all different animals native to eliksnios along with some pop culture characters. Yuzka, Dwarf Aviasni, Chel, and Juv, all miniaturized and made into little toys. Like teddy bears. They were all made in a smooth plushy way. The rest of his group was likely at the pick up station, the place merchant guards were given their cargo to transport and protect. He'd meet with them, but he'd get Hek something first.

He didn't really see anything to get Hek, other than one of those toys. He wandered back, giving a small nod to the Eliksni working there, a small faced, white furred Eliksni, who was happily sitting in a rocking chair behind the table.

"How much for these?" He asked loudly, trying his best to be heard amidst all the voices.

"21 decs. These are hand crafted. Made them myself." The owner mumbled, speaking in a strange accent that he'd never heard before. He must be a merchant from nearby villages.

Yav glanced over at the toys, noting how accurately the creature they were crafted from was portrayed. He wouldn't dare choose the Aviasni. Even if dwarf Aviasni were pets. In his line of work, they were Devils. And having his pup play with a stuffed animal version...he was worried Hek would think they weren't as deadly as they were.

Chel were annoying flying pests. So were Yuzka. But at least they had some meat on them. Juv were large and docile creatures, covered in brown woolly fur, which protected the soft and squishy meat beneath, from both predators and cold. But Juv were stupid animals, hardly as intelligent as the others.

After a few seconds of thought, Yav settled on getting a Yuzka plush. Small, smart, and adaptable, able to survive anything with speed and relentlessness. He kind of wanted Heksis to become a merchant guard just like him, but he wouldn't force anything upon his child. Let him take his own path. He'd love him, no matter what path it was.

"I'll take that one." Yav muttered, pointing at the small Yuzka plushie and holding up a solitary finger.

"Decats please." The merchant asked, speaking in a pretty quiet tone, compared to the rest of the noise around them.

Yav reached into a small pouch on the left side of his tunic with his bottom left hand, pulling out 24 small blue coins with square shaped holes in the middle. He set the coins down on the table, with the merchant stood up from his chair, grabbing the toy off the table and holding it out for him, but Yav simply shook his head.

"All the way at the end of the northern road, you'll see two connected houses. Behind those houses you will find my house. Its built under a large rock. Deliver that to my mate. The extra three is for the delivery." Yaviks ordered, a small amount of hesitation blowing his focus off course like wind. He was sure the merchant would get it delivered. After all...they had a reputation to maintain.

The merchant pondered this for a moment, sitting back into his chair with the plush Yuzka in his lap. "Deal. I'll send someone to deliver it."

"Pleasure doing business with you." Yav said with a small smile at the thought of Kelvi receiving the gift and how Heksis would react to it.

"And you as well." The merchant replied.

Yav nodded again, before turning around and heading off to the pick up station. The station was forward once you came from the tunnel. He turned around, looking for the distinct features of the station. Grey metal structure. A small bar on the outside with wooden stools. A large blue tarp above the bar for some shade. He couldn't see it, since there were so many others in the hub he couldn't see it.

He decided to go off of memory, knowing that the station was on the opposite side of the hub from his location. He started walking, wading through the center part of the hub, walking through whatever openings he could see between the crowds. It didn't take long. After about a minute or two of walking, doing his best to find any opening in the crowd as best as he could, the crowd started to clear, with a blue tarp coming into his view above the heads of the crowds. There it is.

Yav sped up a little more, with the blue tarp in his view, walking out from the center of the hub finally, with the full pick up station coming into view.

A two square shaped tunnel were inside the station, one was so merchants could drop off their cargo, and wait for merchant guards to show up to protect them along their journey, the other was for them to get going to their destination. With the introduction of spaceships and hovercraft...the journey of the merchant guard, one that had been part of their society for as long as they could remember, was beginning to fade. They'd always been the ones to connect the villages together. The mountainous terrain they lived in was both a blessing and a curse. Protection from the ravenous ecosystem below the mountains, but rough and harsh terrain. Building a train or some other kind of vehicle was next to impossible. He could see his friends now, all 6 of them, sitting down on the stools and waiting for their new captain to show up. Yav had to remind himself that the captain they were waiting for was him.

Yav's group of guards had been together for about a decade, a short amount of time for Eliksni, but still significant. Vraxis, Clem, Dahvis, Ralas, Nilvis, and Novas. All sitting together on the stools, each doing their own thing.

Clem was the white furred male sitting in the stool on the far left, clutching both of his twin katas, which were two small metal daggers. Clem was the muscle of the group, even though his small little weapons made it hard to tell. He looked bored when not looking for something to kill. Vraxis was next to Clem, leaning against the bar and facing Yav, a small modified mining pistol at his waist. He'd kept it from his time in the mining guilds. He'd modified the intensity of it and used the pistol as a weapon, with the powerful laser able to slice through flesh much easier than ore. But the range was garbage, limited only to a few meters before the intensity sank to almost irrelevance.

Dahvis and Nilvis, the gray twins, were both sitting farther away from the other four, sitting together with one stool in between them, which had two metal swords resting on the wood, each one belonging to each of them.

Ralas and Novas were sitting together to the left of Clem and Vraxis, their stools scooted closer to each other than anyone else, with each of them leaning against one another romantically, both of their puffy white bodies pressed against each other. Novas was the only female of the group. And she probably the best shot in the whole group. Ralas was also skilled with the bow, but only used one, while Novas used two. One in each set of arms, upper and lower. Yav didn't know how she did it and kept her aim true.

"I'm here!" Yav shouted out as loud as he could, trying to get all of their attention. All of them except Clem turned to face him, with Clem slumped against the bar counter, likely in another one of his drunken half sleep stupors. Vraxis was the first to speak up to him.

"Congratulations on the promotion! Captain Yav." He said respectfully, hints of uncertainty in his voice.

"Yeah. Kovahn had to retire eventually... I know you'll take care of us." Dahvis added.

"The old nuffball was good at his job...now you gotta take the reins...but I think we'll manage. Same thing as always. You just decide where we go. You'll do fine." Nilvis assured, doing his best to take any stress off his shoulders about this.

"Thanks. I'll do my best. I promised Kelvi that I'd try to get home as quick as possible, so let's get down to business. Whats the cargo?"

"Seven crates of electronic circuitry. Wires, levers, computer components, stuff like that. The village we're going to is only a few thousand steps away. We've had worse. They need some materials for some upcoming project, it's probably a defense grid or something. You wouldn't use all the stuff in those crates to just make lights." Vraxis informed, explaining what they were doing with the same persistent calm that he always had. Yav immediately felt his confidence fade like an avalanche sliding down a hill. Vra may not be as good as him, or as experienced, but he was a leader. He never freaked out. He was always calm and logical. What if he snapped in the middle of an attack? Freaked out? He'd never done so before...but he was still worried nonetheless.

"How heavy is that?" He asked.

"Pretty light. Enough for the cart to carry easily. We could even take a nap on the cart if we want. Plenty of space." Vra replied.

The carts they got were the latest issue, hovering platforms with railing all around the edges, along with a small roof made for covering the crates. "Could me and Ralas hang out in the cart? It's nice and comfy in there." Novas asked, speaking up finally.

"Depends. What village are we delivering-"

"Coolee village. That's what's it's called. Just another old village that wants to upgrade its tech from old to modern." Vra interrupted, knowing what Yav was going to say.

"Any tunnels along the way?" The captain asked, letting the thought of Nov and Ral hidden in the cart doing gods know what enter his mind. He brushed it off just a little joke his subconscious had made.

"None that I found...Sorry you two. No cart relaxation on this trip..." Vra muttered, with both of them letting out small little sighs and huffs of disappointment like children.

"Okay..." They both groaned in unison, before both getting up out of their stools, walking off into the pickup station, with Nilvis letting out a small "We'll be at the cart" before they disappeared behind the wooden door.

"I still have your spear and shrapnel launcher Captain." Vraxis said, calling him captain rather than by his real name, merely respecting his rank.

"Don't call me that please. Is it in the cart?" Yav muttered to Vra, who seemed to have taken up the role of the second in command of the group. His second in command gave him a small nod of approval.

"Let's get going then."


	3. Chapter 2 Devils In The Wind

All seven of the merchant guards were huddled together, bodies pressed against each other to conserve heat as they guided the hovercart out of a dark and narrow cave. They hadn't traveled far. It took long nonetheless. The snowstorm had certainly slowed their progress. The fur ball of grey, white and blue held onto the carts line together as a chilling windstorm battered them from almost all directions, the wind changing direction on a whim while they traversed the mountains. The heavy snow loomed somewhere in the distance, but they couldn't quite tell where. The hovercart was simple in its design. A large rectangular metal platform, with several little clips on the corners. The clips would hold the corners of the tarp that they would lay over the crates for protection. And shelter, if they needed it. Cramped shelter. But shelter nonetheless.

A loud, distant shriek echoed in the distance, followed by about a dozen gentle cooing noises which were too loud to be calming for anyone. Aviasni were patrolling the area, looking for both traveling Eliksni and adult Chels. The group cautiously stopped as soon as they heard it, doing their best to determine the beasts location. The treetops mostly protected them, so no Aviasni could engage them directly for the moment. It was when they re-entered the uncovered portion o the journey that worried the crew. The Aviasni were ambush predators, striking from the side or from above, giving their prey only a few precious seconds to react before they were carried off or torn apart by the creatures large claws and feared not the weather. As long as the group didn't leave any openings in their fur fortress, and made sure everyone looked one way, they'd be fine. As the shriek tapered off, the howls of the wind took over. Almost any area on the mountains were far more dangerous than narrow caves, especially the rocky areas in the rain.

Yaviks stopped the caravan for a few minutes. His back was slightly sore from leaning over in the small huddle, and he was willing to feel the chilling wind for a few moments until the pain subsided. Leaving the others, he approached a break in the ever-thinning line of trees. Securing his weapon to his back and firmly grabbing hold of some low branches, he climbed to the top of the tree and tried to scout out the path ahead. The rain matted down his already soaked fur and the water retained on the leaves only furthered this process, making the branches and trunk slick. This was by far the most dangerous part of being captain, risking life and limb to see if there are any blockages or other hurdles in the path during breaks. Here he was completely exposed to the Aviasni and any other flying creature. In this distance he could see their destination, a small oval shaped valley, surrounded by steep vertical mountainsides only a few miles wide and not many more long. Several plumes of smoke rose from the village below, odd given their standard heating technology, but power outages were common in a storm like this. He'd investigate the best he could when they arrived.

Turning his mind back to the task at hand, Yaviks pulled himself out of the tree, stretched out his back, and recalled his guards. "Alright, let's get back on it. Take defensive positions. We're enjoying the breeze for a few moments." There were mixed reviews and slight grumbles, but those against it ultimately swallowed their gripes.

The group continued on in a somewhat nervous silence, only speaking in short sentences to alert anyone to a small obstacle Yaviks couldn't see from the tree. As they approached, the rain subsided, but the icy wind continued blow across the mountainside as they continued onward, bringing with it suffocating fumes from the smoke that curled up the side of the mountain until finally dissipating. After a rather slick, final slope where all of them lost their footing at one point or another, Yaviks and his crew had finally made it.

The village did its best to use as much of the valley as possible, buildings carved into the sides of the surrounding mountain range while other stone structures stood steadfast in the snow, however there was something absent from the village. The smoke continued to rise, but the only sound aside from their footsteps and the wind was silence. Curious, they continued into the village, not finding a single soul in what was once a marketplace.

"I don't like this place." Vraxis grumbled, holding his bulky mining laser tightly in both of his upper hands.

"I don't either," Yav admitted. "But we have to press forward." The others simply gave him a small nod of agreement as they continued, looking around the area carefully. The storm picked up again, bringing with it snow and sleet this time instead of rain. It was hard and bitter, winds blowing so fast that they caused little tornadoes of snow particles around in the caves and crevices of the mountainside, which made peaceful whistling noises that only made the group that much more on edge.

The trail was easy to navigate, the group simply followed the bright green glow sticks that had been drilled into the ground, with only the small orb of green light sticking out of the fluffy white snow. There were probably about two dozen of them in the valley, so far they were going straight out from the entrance to the valley, following the glow sticks with little effort. The distance between the two caves didn't seem too long, but when actually walking it, it was long and arduous made even more so by the freezing snow. Small wildlife took cover in the abandoned homes, scurrying into whatever crevice they could find as the group walked by. They hadn't encountered any other caravans so far, which probably meant that this village didn't trade, but Yav didn't see any farms or storage anywhere, just fires with nobody gathered around them.

Perhaps they just didn't use caravans anymore and delivered goods with cargo ships, joined the movement that he had considered several times before, but being a crew member on a ship lacked adventure, mystery. He enjoyed the ambiguity of this job. Who would they meet? What would they see? What would see them? Each encounter was different, and that's what made Yaviks love his work as much as he did. With the constant threat of the Aviasni and the occasional defenseless person who needed rescuing, it satisfied his need for adventure, danger, and decats in his pockets. It also gave him an excuse to see all the world beyond his village.

It hadn't taken long to travel across the valley toward the tunnel, which was across from the tunnel they had come though, just over a half hour. Seeing as though they were likely ahead of schedule, the group fanned out and poked around what remained of the village.

Other than crumbled buildings and fires, nobody found much. Yaviks walked up to one of the cave houses built into the side of a cliff. It took him a moment of digging through the harsh snow to get to the metal door, but there was something satisfying in it as well. He could become somebody's savior, become a hero and an example to his son. Thrilled by this prospect, Yav grabbed the door handle but immediately retracted his hand. The metal bit into his hand and shot pain up his shoulder. "Oh-" Yav grunted, vigorously shaking his hand. "That's cold. Ok, ok. Let's try this again." Yaviks grabbed the handle again, pulling for a moment before having to let go and shake his hand again. This door was frozen shut, and he was not going to get it open. Once again, Yav thought of someone possibly being trapped inside and considered calling Vraxis over to help get it open. He ultimately decided against it and rounded everyone up to keep moving.

A short time later, they arrived at the tunnel, snow piled in front of the entrance with only a small hole in the top where snow had not yet reached. "Clem and Dahvis. Clear a path for us." Yaviks ordered, getting small nods from both of the guards as they broke off from the group as they walked toward the tunnel.

Standing side by side, they pushed against the snow, nearly a solid block of ice due to the temperature They had been doing this for so long that they didn't need to speak as much as they used to. Now they knew what to do and when to do it. The two Eliksni pushed the tall pile of snow out of the way, leaving clumps of the disconnected snow together as they removed the obstacle. Once the block transferred from the dirt to the stone, it became apparent to Yaviks that the pile was not going to break on its own.

"Stop a second," he called out to Clem and Dahvis. The pair stepped aside and made room for Yaviks. He studied the block for a moment before stabbing it in a few places with his staff. Cracks immediately formed where he had stabbed it, spider-webbing out from the ice-snow's wound. With a nod of understanding, Clem and Dahvis set to work pushing the pieces down and away from their path.

The tunnel itself was very small. Barely big enough to fit the hover cart, which was only about 8 steps wide. At least Yaviks remembered it being that wide. He'd measure it later. Another sound shrieked in the distance, followed quickly by another that echoed gently within the tunnel, the sound slowing fading away into little squeaks as cooing noises followed. "Coooooooooh. Cooh. Coooo..." an Aviasni called out from behind the group's hover cart, the whole group turned back yet again, weapons pointed to the sky cautiously.

The creatures had learned to adapt to their prey or go home hungry, stalking their prey and waiting for them to forget about their presence before attacking swiftly and viciously. Depending on how much an Aviasni interacted with an Eliksni, some of the flying beast's behavior would become much more unpredictable and reckless compared to ones that lacked experience. Smart as they were, the Aviasni were still animals, cunning ones that took a similarly cunning mind to fool. It probably thought that the group was a singular entity until it saw two pieces, Clem and Dahvis, break off and realized its dangerous score. However dangerous the road was, the group was a team, something their previous Captain had made sure to maintain, and Yaviks was not about to let that mindset disintegrate on his watch.

The rest of the group scurried forward into the cave as soon as the path was clear, leaving the hovercart momentarily but holding a firm grip onto its rope. Once inside, they marked all edges and crevices within the immediate area for any possible threat. Determined the cave was clear for the moment, Yaviks gave the order to start pulling the cart again. Once again, a loud shriek echoed, causing the whole group to watch over their shoulder like the prey they knew they were.

Yaviks and the others liked to think they were safe in the tunnel mainly because Aviasni wouldn't be able to fit inside, and if they could, they wouldn't have much room to maneuver anyways and even less time before they shot it. Convinced that they were not in any danger, the group continued onward, walking down the tunnel as they pulling their cargo along.

Yaviks had been happy with how smooth things had been going so far on this trip, they hadn't had any attacks and even fewer problems with the cargo, but Yaviks still felt strange about this trip. He'd had a similar feeling before on several of the group's previous trips, the slight urge to pull his weapon and fire at the nearest shadow. What could it be? Paranoia? Anxiety? Yaviks couldn't tell which. To him, paranoia was the fear of the unexpected, the sudden change while anxiety was fear of the future, of what possible hardships lay ahead. His definitions were certainly not the way they were supposed to be defined, but that was how he defined them, and he didn't care what anyone else thought about that.

The group had walked about 20 steps into the tunnel by now, Clem and Dahvis in the lead, with Nilvis following behind them both. Ralas and Novas were standing on the sides of the hover cart, occasionally making little heart shapes with their hands at each other. He and Vraxis were in the back, both sitting on the corners of the back of the cart. Vraxis was staring at his ore cutter's little screen, which replaced a scope and partially blocked the iron sight. His upper right hand was on the screen, tapping the screen once or twice every second. Yaviks grunted in disapproval at the gray furred Eliksni. Vraxis replied with a smaller, softer grunt of submission, staring at the screen for another second before turning it off with a small sigh.

"Stay alert Vrax," Yaviks warned. "And stop playing Flappy Chel." Vraxis replied with another soft grunt.

"I wasn't playing Flappy Chel," he argued. I' was just doing a bio scan on my leg. Thought I was getting a little frostbitten back there."

"By tapping the screen over and over?" Yaviks asked, suspicious, curling his mandibles around each other in amusement. Vrax looked down at the screen again and then back to Yaviks before quietly muttering. "Fine, you got me." He muttered quietly, before turning back to watch the side of the tunnel, mining laser aimed at the wall should anything decide to jump out. Yaviks simply nodded his head and uncurled his mandibles. Vraxis wasn't a stubborn person by any means, but he did occasionally get distracted, something that could cost everyone their lives if a dangerous situation suddenly struck. It worried Yaviks. He didn't want Vrax to get taken away from them by some creature, so he made sure to remind him that he needed to stay alert on every trip, and to keep an eye on him when he could.

"We're in a cave. What is there to watch out for?" Vrax mumbled.

"That's when something ambushes you," Yaviks retorted. "When you least expect it. Keep your eyes open."

The party pushed further into the cave. Slowly, the cries of the Aviasni became drowned out by the relative silence. Other than the occasional alert to some obstacle or perhaps a cough or sneeze, it was eerily quiet. It made Yaviks anxious, enough so that he momentarily halted the caravan and had Clem and Dahvis scout the path ahead. While they were gone, Vraxis took up the post at the front while they waited. Everyone seemed to be on edge as well, possibly because of the relatively close call with the Aviasni. That was the closest they'd been with one in the last couple of months, and that could barely register as an encounter. "Thought there weren't any tunnels?" Novas called out, closely nestled with Ralas.

"Sometimes you just have to improvise," Vraxis replied. "I couldn't predict that this village was going to be frozen."

"So then how far off does that put us off from Coolee?" Ralas asked.

Yav wasn't paying attention though. He was wandering through a maze of thoughts rushing through his head. Doubts and fears not just for himself, but for his mate and child. Out of worry, he placed a hand on his back to ensure that his Shrapnel Launcher was there, his other hand tightening its grip on the spear. Reminded that he had a weapon on him, his doubt soon faded.

"One village was around the middle of the trail. I guess we found it. Which means we're half way there. But I wouldn't call that place a village. That place was deserted. Can't have a village without villagers." Vraxis spoke up for Yav, obviously noticing how he was deep in thought. But he chose not to say anything about it. Thankfully. Doubt can spread like a sickness in small groups like this. And Yav didn't want to make the others doubt as well.

They continued to walk down the tunnel, walking between the wooden pillars and hoping they would hold the ground above their heads if a roof collapse occurred. The hover cart was easy to move through the tunnel. They occasionally would need to tip it to the side slightly to make it fit through the wooden pillars holding the rusted metal roof up above their heads. The walls and the floor were all stone though, and if not for the pillars and roof, they would think this was a natural tunnel. Carved from the howling winds, or water seeping into cracks, then freezing and expanding. Over and over. The tunnel seemed to have been carved in great haste, Yav noted the small stone fragments and pebbles on the floor. They hadn't been cleaned up. Either the miners were amateurish, or were in a rush. Vraxis pushed himself off the cart, also noticing the stone fragments left on the floor. He crouched down over one pile of hacked stone, lower left arm reaching down to the ground and grabbing one of the pieces effortlessly.

"Whoever did this wasn't very experienced. Maybe they-" Vraxis brought the fragment up closer to his face, turning around and doing a short little sprint toward the back corner of the hover cart he had been sitting on. Didn't want to be separated from the group. Yaviks stared at the young gray merchant guard as he leaped up onto the back corner opposite of him. The hair on his shoulders puffed up with curiosity as he drew his mining laser from his waist, pointing the molecular scanner attachment on the bottom of the plasma cutter shaped weapon at the small chunk of stone, flipping a small switch on the side of the small screen above the trigger of the laser cutter. A small mechanical squeak was heard from the scanner as Vrax held the stone chunk in front of the attachment. Once a several lines appeared on the screen above the trigger of his mining laser, Vraxis casually tossed the scanned fragment on the ground behind the cart.

"Here we go. Typical granite, with some small amounts of iron on it. Someone used a drill. So they must be amateurs with good kits. Doesn't matter now. The tunnel leads to a ruin." Vraxis mumbled to Yav, obviously fascinated by the readings on the screen. Captain Yav simply grumbled quietly, wanting him to stay alert again. Vrax did as he was told.

The rest of them continued down the tunnel, with Clem and Dahvis continuing to lead the way, walking with an attitude. They wanted to leave this place. Yavik was beginning to want to as well. All Eliksni feared being trapped. It was instinctive, burned into their brains over centuries of survival. To be restricted was to be vulnerable. Eliksni homes always had multiple entrances and exits. Made them much more comfortable.

The tunnels walls looked jagged and sharp, like strangely-shaped teeth. The gentle hum of the hover cart's engine, and the quiet, alert steps of Clem and Dahvis echoed through the tunnel, then faded. The tunnel had an exit. They'd be out of here soon. Then they'd walk toward Coolee, take the trip back, and then what? Didn't matter now. The present was Yav's priority, especially now. Not the future. Or the past. If a group of merchant guards were killed, any trace of them would be recycled by the planet's environment. Unless something found them only a few hours after they were killed, they'd disappear completely. That was just one of the risks they had to take.

The walk out of the tunnel was slow. Clem and Dahvis led the way, Novas and Ralas were relaxing under the tarp on the hover cart after the pair had complained about their legs hurting, and Vraxis was sitting with Yav, watching everyone's back.

'Perfect formation.' Yav thought, turning his attention to the tarp for a moment before getting up on his feet so he could look over it. Clem and Dahvis were still marching forward, and he let out a small sigh of disappointment when he saw the end of the tunnel. The exit was there. But it was pretty far from here. About 200 steps. How much longer? "There is nothing in here." Clem mumbled loudly, with Dahvis grunting a short "Obviously..." to Clem as they walked. Clem simply rolled his head in annoyance at Dahvis.

The end of the tunnel was a relief for the group, once they reached it. They'd decided to switch roles, putting Ralas and Novas in the back of the hover carter, and Yaviks and Vraxis in the front.

"Don't even think about playing or scanning anything. Understand?" Yaviks huffed, Vraxis giving a small nod of agreement towards his captain. The way Vraxis was holding the mining laser looked slightly sloppy to its user, so the Eliksni simply reached into one of his pockets, pulling out some attachments. A long full stock, and a small grip shaped like a small little tooth, with its sharp tip curled back toward the trigger. Horn grips. That's what Clem called them. Some major Juv farmer made a deal with a hunting company. Giving them some of their biggest Juv horns which Yaviks assumed the farmer sold the horns to someone else before they chose to sell them to a hunting company. But...enough about ornamental weapon attachments. Yav needed to focus. Vraxis needed to focus even more.

'If you're sloppy in this Vrax, you're gonna wish you never even crawled out of your house this morning,' the captain quietly thought to himself as he watched his side of the front of the cart.

Both Eliksni had the two small cables that let them drag the hover cart along hooked up to the X shaped straps on their backs. The X was located at the lower part of their back, between both of the lower arms. Most Eliksni are better at using their upper hands than they are their bottom ones. And, they wanted to make sure the strap wouldn't restrict their movement too much either.

But for better or worse, the group marched toward the opening, a white hole as bright as a star. But...it was snow, as expected. The outside wasn't exactly surprising, but it was comforting. Now...instead of having to worry about attacks from the front and from behind...they had to worry about attacks from everywhere else. But...at least they weren't trapped. The grouped dreaded being backed into a corner.

So, as both Yav and Vrax quietly marched out into the snow ridden outside, they both smiled as they watched their assigned flanks. You didn't fool around in the open. Yav looked to the sky, searching for any sign of the Aviasni, but only found the gray clouds sprinkling frozen precipitation over their path. The group pressed through the ice, feeling its bitter chill with each step. A few minutes later, they reached the crest of another hill, the penultimate one just before they reached their destination.

"Hold up," Yav ordered, raising a fist. The snow made it difficult to see the village below them,

"Something wrong?" Vrax asked, approaching the edge of the hill alongside Yav. Together they looked out over the snow-covered plain that stood between them and their ultimate goal. The path veered to one smaller hill within their line of sight, but Yav thought that perhaps they could avoid it altogether if they blazed their own trail, a way to maybe shave a little off their travel time.

"No," the captain responded, shifting the staff's position in his hand. "I'm debating whether or not to break from the path. Save a little time and get out of this cold."

"That would put us off course wouldn't it? In my opinion, I think we should just stick to the path and take the hill. After all, the Aviasni or some other animal could have a trap set up beneath the snow."

"What makes you think there isn't one on the path? It's pretty snowed over at this point."

Vrax turned his gaze to the hill and road leading up to it. "Call it a gut feeling," he said gruffly placing a hand on Yav's shoulder.

Yav stared at the untouched snow for a moment longer before responding, "Maybe when it's not frozen."

Vrax slapped Yav's shoulder a couple times. "There ya go. Already sounding like a captain. I'll get the others." Before Yav could respond, Vrax was already shouting to the others to "shake a leg and get a move on." It was just then that he realized why they were all standing in a circle. Yav caught up to them just in time to see Vraxis yanking his mining laser out of some improvised apparatus that pulled the trigger just enough to get it charging and release extreme amounts of heat without actually firing it. They had apparently been using it to thaw their frozen hands, and Vrax was not too pleased about that.

Yav let him sort it out since he seemed to have it under control. The others walked away with some minor protests but seemed pleased to have some feeling back in their frozen limbs. Taking their positions and covering their assigned flanks, Yav gave the order to march onward. They moved in relative silence, listening to the choir of the wind, their footsteps, and hum of the engine.

About an hour later, Yav and the group passed over the crest of the final hill overlooking their final destination. A wall twice as tall as Yav blocked most of the details, but the group could definitely see smoke rising from the homes built on the icy plain, not only a sign of warmth but also a signal that he could head home sooner rather than later, maybe pick up another toy or souvenir for young Heksis if he finds there are some extra decats for arriving a little earlier. "We're almost there!" Vrax cheered to the joyous shouts of the others. "Food's on me when we get there." A second chorus of enthusiastic cheers followed behind him.

The group moved with a little extra pace as they descended the hill and approached the gates. The smoke continued to carry through the air, bringing along with it a strange scent, putrid and suffocating, like an entire Aviasni flock had died in the center of town. Yav looked at the sealed gate, meant for the most part to keep ground creatures from entering, but it also allowed for guards to make sure there was nothing illegal in their cart or perhaps give them an opportunity to excise a tax on something else. The guards generally stayed in the watchtowers that flanked the entrance to the wall, activating the scanner as a delivery passed through the gate, but after several minutes of waiting, it dawned on Yav and Vrax that there was no guard that was coming. Yav called up to the guard towers but got no response; the others joined in a moment later.

A few shouts later, there was a sickening crunch, and the gate suddenly began to lower. "Thank you!" Yav called out to whomever opened the gate. It slowly slunk down, white dust covering the pentagonal teeth at the top that interlocked with similar teeth hidden within the upper section. A rush of that putrid air suddenly filled the group's lungs, sending a wave of nausea through all of them for a few seconds. "It's even worse up close," Clem said, shielding his eyes as if the smell was assailing them. Dahvis and Nilvis were doing similar, the former saying, "You'd think they know not to burn Kloff Wood."

"Maybe not," the latter responded.

"Then we'll let 'em know when we get in there," Yav called out. He proceeded to wave the others through before joining them himself, but he paused just as he crossed the gate's threshold to look at the dust covering the top of the gate now residing in a neatly placed strip of space between the magnetic locks. He bent down and swiped his fingers across the teeth's rough surfaces, rubbing some of the dust between his fingers and watching it settle on back on the gate. 'Chitin?' he thought to himself, a material that had become increasingly rare and outdated with the increase in manufactured goods. It may not have been Chitin though, but the feel even against his frozen fingers had every indication that it was chitin.

Yaviks pushed that out of his mind and followed his team to the scanner, a rectangular metal room sealed off from the test of the world by the heavy gates and their respective magnetic locks but there never came the usual hum of said scanner. In fact, the first gate never closed back up. "Looks like we need to tell them their gates are broken too," Vrax commented. "Guess they need these components more than we know."

First impressions, to Yav, were a big deal, and that was certainly the vibe he was getting from this place. He just hoped the manual override still functioned. Since there did not seem to be any power, the override would be open for use as opposed magnetically locked when the power was on, only deactivated by the guard towers should they deem it necessary. "Ralas, use the manual override and get this door open," Yav politely ordered.

"On it," he said, finding a crank on the door and beginning to push against it. It refused to move at first, but with a little more physical coaxing, Ralas began to raise the door as a much thicker wall of the same putrid smell rushed through the new opening, causing everyone to gag for several seconds. Through it all and probably holding his breath, Ralas continued to raise the door, wet spots gathering beneath his eyes as the smell surged. After several more minutes of agony punctuated with disgusted mutters and calls to cease the complaining, the smell seemingly began to dissipate. Ralas coughed a few times while he was cranking, struggling to keep his grip on the lever every now and again, but the door eventually raised high enough to fit the cart, Yav signaled the others through. All but one of them went, Ralas being the only one besides Yav inside the scanning tunnel. He seemed frozen in place.

"What's wrong?" Yav asked his motionless comrade. He said nothing but showed Yav his hands. Several deep cuts streaked blood all over his hands. Glancing over to the lever, Yav saw blood on it too. Other than the blood, his hands had also turned an unnatural shade of purplish-blue. His lower hands dangled at his side lifeless but did not look to be harmed, just limp. "What happened to you? Why didn't you say anything?"

Ralas said nothing for several seconds before muttering weakly, "Don't tell Novas."

Yav patted him on the shoulder. "I won't my friend. Let's go find the local doctor and get you warmed and patched up." He nodded and tucked his hands beneath the opposing armpits, making them look folded to conserve warmth rather than injury. They ducked beneath the partially open gate, but nothing could prepare Yav for what he saw next.

In a word, Coolee Village was empty, devoid of life and many of the structures. The area that Yav had no doubt was once covered with buildings, markets, and houses was drastically empty. The stone roads and masonry on the buildings were broken, cracked, or completely missing altogether. Towers of smoke rose from razed buildings set ablaze by someone or something. Yav stopped in his tracks, mouth agape as he stared out amongst the destruction. Looking to the other guards and cart, they had all stopped not far out of the door, either on their knees or just standing there. Never had Yav seen so much destruction in one place. There was a new smell that overwrote the putrid one from earlier, one of death, a scent Yav had not experienced in years.

Forms lay slumped against half-destroyed buildings or in the streets as the initial shock diminished and Yav made out more of the details. Uncaring snow had begun to pile up on the streets, barely acknowledging the new lumps on the ground it was forming against. 'What happened here?' Yav thought, breaking out of his stupor and forcing himself to catch up with the others. Just then, something caught his eye to the left. Turning, he saw something that looked oddly enough like a sword a couple dozen steps away. He approached it tentatively, feeling like he was the only one who could do something or even move at this point.

The closer he got, the more the wind picked up, reaching a howl just as Yav got within a few feet of what he could now saw was a blade. It was gray and extremely heavy-looking, shaped more like a bone with sharp edges and a hilt than a traditional Eliksni blade. It had a faint green glow about it. Surrounding it were black and red plates that looked to be made of chitin or a substance extremely similar to it. He picked up one of the plates, but it immediately turned into dust that blew away with the increasingly violent wind.

The sword seemed to whisper to his soul, making him forget about the others and everything around him. All that mattered was the faint glow that surrounded the sword, fingertips on his mind lightly pulling his hand away from his body and toward the sword. His hands felt like that just had to touch it, to feel its rough hilt and heft it over his shoulder and swing it at whatever enemies would come in his path. This sword had all the answers he subconsciously sought. The fingertips dug deeper into his mind, moving his hand towards the blade automatically. Just as he touched the rough hilt a shrill shriek pierced the air, splitting his ears and throwing everyone out of their own respective trances. All around him, Yav saw light green portals with dark centers swirled into existence out of nothing.

Suddenly, bony white creatures that looked like eyeless skeletons charged out of the portals. They came one by one at first but quickly frenzied and charged out in droves. Their cries were nothing like the initial sound, but the claws at the ends of their hands were none too inviting. To whomever could hear him, Yav shouted, "RUN!" The others' heads darted about their surroundings, once again frozen but this time in fear rather than an alien trance. Heeding his own advice, Yav turned around and grabbed his shrapnel launcher, darting towards the gate and firing behind him every couple of steps. Within a matter of seconds, the area was a sea of the white, bony creatures and a chorus of the terrible shrieks, ever-increasing in volume and intensity. Every time he looked behind him, another head of his comrades disappeared into the crowd. First Novas, then Clem, then Dahvis, Ralas, and finally Nilvis. He never saw Vraxis in the scuffle.

Just as he reached the gate, one of the creatures clawed his leg, sending a burning pain all the way up his leg and causing him to trip and fall. He immediately turned onto back and fired the shrapnel launcher wildly as he was quickly surrounded. Everytime he shot one of them, it seemed two more would take its place. Yaviks scurried on his back, kicking with his legs and firing his weapon until he was able to get on his feet and shove his way past the whatever they were. They wouldn't be deterred, continuing to chase, claws at the ready and maws wide open, intent on killing their prey. Yav fired blindly again but heard only a click usher from the weapon. Acting fast, he yanked the cartridge out and fumbled in his utility belt for another. He firmly grasped the new clip and tried to slam it into the receiver, but he missed, hitting the gun with enough force to knock it out of his hand and onto the ground below. Panicking and realizing he was losing ground, Yav lightened his load just as he entered the tunnel, throwing the gun back just as another claw dug into his leg...


	4. Chapter 3 Playful Times

Yavik's disappearance was worrying for Kelvi. But...this wasn't the first time he'd been "delayed" during one of his deliveries. A mountain pass could have collapsed, and they would need to wait for it to be repaired, usually helping out and coming home with a few more decats. He'd been gone for 18 months, three times his longest delay. The odds of him coming back by this time seemed dim, but Kelvi was a positive person, sometimes unrealistically so. She wouldn't give into her fears. She'd been given some decats from her family, and her sister had been coming over to help with Heksis. Just before she married Yav, her sister had warned her that one day her husband may never return, but she married him anyway. Yaviks' group's track record of almost never being late to a delivery and relatively incident-free runs certainly assured her. They were all far too experienced for anything to take them down. However, she worried nonetheless. Everyday, she would remember one of the stories that Yav shared with her, some recollection of danger and heroism that left her speechless every time. Her beloved was a survivor. There was no way some foul creature would get the jump on him. And if they did, his comrades would no doubt protect him with their lives.

Kelvi woke up about an hour ago to the squeaky chirps of her pup, who would always be begging for attention in the morning. Since his birth, she had certainly spoiled him with almost every waking moment she had and most times even into the night, even when he drifted off to sleep. She'd spent the whole night in his room three days ago, sleeping on the floor. Hek's snoring was adorable, a mix of gentle squawks followed by calm and sleepy grunts. Now that he was awake, he had learned to roll around the room by wrapping himself in his arms, tucking his mandibles back, and using his soft fur to move about the floor.

Heksis looked beautiful to her. Four big, glowing eyes, full of curiosity, happiness, love, and empathy for everything they saw. His little face ,hands, and feet had a thin bit of fur that covered them. But the rest of his body had changed significantly in the months since passed. A ring shaped mane had grown around his neck, one that would only continue to grow, as with all males, until he reached adulthood. A slightly smaller amount of fluffy white fur had grown on the rest of his body, protecting any vital organs from the cold and even little bit on his head.

Kelvi leaned against the wall, watching Heksis giggle with childish glee as he rolled from the left wall over to the right wall, and then back again and again. Little Heksis amazed her by how easy it was for him to entertain himself with just the slightest of things, but then again, she didn't remember that much about what she did at his age, so it would probably be best if she didn't judge.

She had brought him some toys though, which were all piled up into a small paper bag under the cradle, which Heksis still hadn't noticed despite her previous attempts.

Heksis had made it back to the left wall once again, and then happily rolled over to the right wall.

Since the little furball was having so much fun, Kelvi figured why not jump in herself. Kelvi pushed herself forward and away from the wall behind her, lying down on her thin, furred knees before easing herself onto her belly, and beginning to roll along with Heksis. The excited giggles and squeals increased in volume the more she joined in, Heksis' demeanor suddenly changing to a little more competitive. She couldn't lose to an infant.

She kicked into overdrive with her rolling, rolling about 3 times faster than the slower awkward roll she had been doing before. It didn't take long before she hit the right wall, and then began to roll in the opposite direction. She could feel all the shed fur get on her clothing as she rolled toward the left wall, which Heksis appeared to be rolling towards. Now was her chance to show him who's boss.

She rolled on her side to the left as fast as she could, elbows feeling slightly sore from the amount of times they scraped across the foam floor. But when she made it, she slammed into the wall, with Heksis following shortly afterwards, hitting the wall with a silent thud. Kelvi panted slightly as she got up, lifting her head up first before her entire back was straight, crossing her legs in a criss cross Dazia sauce way.

"Okay Heksis...You wanna see some of the toys I got you?" She asked, knowing that if she was panting, Heksis must be exhausted already. Luckily none of the toys she brought required that much physical work, so Heksis should be fine playing them. Kelvi looked to see Heksis, and smiled when she saw her little boy leaning against the wall, panting but ready to get back in the game. He was panting for at least 5 seconds before he turned his head to listen to his mother, still laying on his back and leaning the wall.

"What are they...?" Heksis asked, his voice sounding precious to his mother's ears. There were slight pauses in between each word as his mind was still grasping sentences.

Kelvi smiled at each word. "I got you a few books, a couple puzzles, and one Javlok plant. So you have someone to talk to." She explained, preparing for Hek's question about what a Javlok plant little pup's eyes widened with excitement, looking around the room for it, still not seeing it under the cradle.

"What's a J-Javlok plant momma?" Heksis asked, struggling to pronounce the new word.

"A Javlok is this magical little green plant that can think on its own. In a way..." Kelvi knew the plant wasn't entirely sentient on its own, so saying it could think on its own might be an exaggeration. But the woman she'd bought it from had told her that when its roots joined together with the roots of other Javlok plants...they would become fully self award and sentient. Shortly after...she started offering a 5 percent discount if she bought another Javlok plant. Typical.

"When you touch it's leaves...you can talk with it." Kelvi explained, doing her best to speak about the plant as if it were the best thing in the world. She'd seen multiple Javlok plants in her youth, usually owned by the kids of the rich mining families or out in the middle of the market for everyone to see. Apparently people had started to modify them a little a few years ago, make them produce more seed or something. Because now it was just a little companion for her son.

"Talk with it? It has a mouth? Could it bite?" Heksis asked, obviously curious about the plant but still cautious about it. He was curious, but he wasn't.

"No it doesn't have a mouth."

"Then how does it talk?"

"Magic..." She didn't want to have to explain the whole thing to him, so she explained it by just saying it was magical, rather than explain it to him scientifically. He'd ask so many questions if she tried to explain it scientifically.

"Magic? A-a-a p-plant? Who made it?" Heksis asked, probably believing it was made by a sorcerer or something. He'd enjoyed the story she'd read him a little too much. He must've thought that it was a true story.

"I don't know who made it." She replied.

"Then why did you buy it?" Heksis asked, as if buying something from someone you don't know was dangerous.

"I bought it for you." Heksis didn't say anything else for several minutes. He just stared at the plant. "I'm tired..." he finally mumbled, resting his head on her neck and sharing some of her warmth. She laid against the wall, feeling herself struggle to keep her eyes open as well. They both needed a little nap.

"Okay. Want me to read you a story after you wake up?" She asked, immediately thinking about where she was going to nap. Of course he would want to hear a story. She'd only read one to him once and he'd been absolutely fascinated with it.

"Yeah." Heksis mumbled sleepily into her neck, lifting his head up afterwards and letting out a short yawn at her shoulder.

Kelvi could see the exhaustion in his eyes. An hour ago, they had been wide open, glowing brightly and looking at everything they could. Now...they were glowing faintly, lids barely ope. She decided to sleep on the couch in the living room once she put him to sleep, knowing that it would be good for her since the leather of the couch felt really good on her back.

"Nap time little one." She whispered into his ear, bringing her upper arms up to him and holding his bottom as she pushed herself off the wall with her lower arm, getting on her knees. She put one of her legs up, before doing the same with the other, lifting herself up onto her feet. She looked over at Hek's cradle.

The cradle had a large wooden frame, large enough for half of her to lay inside of it. The wood was polished, light brown, with multiple dark brown lines and swirls in the sides of the wood. The top had a large screen hatch, which had been lifted up and was leaning against the wall behind the cradle. When she wanted to, she could close that over the cradle to make sure Heksis couldn't get out. He'd tried several times before, luckily he'd been caught every time before he could escape. She'd installed a large plastic baby lock on the screen door, so he wouldn't be able to climb out and play around without her supervision. As smart as he'd become...she didn't want to take any chances with him. If he fell down on something, who knows what could happen.

She held onto him as she made her way over to the cradle, letting him rest his head on her neck a little more, enjoying the warm feeling as he snuggled his head against her neck. Once she'd made it over to the cradle, she took a quick look inside it. Hek's bright green blanket, woven from thousands of strands of string. His pillows, all white and stained with drool. And the mattress of the cradle itself, which was a plush but bumpy white.

"Want me to put you in a cocoon?" She whispered into his ear, quickly receiving a small grunt of approval from Heksis, whose eyes had been closed completely.

She took that as a yes, immediately reaching down into the cradle with her lower arms and moving the spread out blanket to the left side of the cradle. She gently set Heksis on his right side amongst the numerous pillows that covered the soft cushion that served as the bottom of his cradle. He immediately slumped into the pillows, stretching his little arms and legs as a small little grin formed on his mandibles. She'd started to work on the cocoon as soon as she'd set Heksis down. She took the blanket out of the cradle, flattening it out before spreading it across every part of the mattress except for the one Heksis was sleeping on. Once it was spread out, she lifted Heksis back up again, with one of his little feet holding onto a pillow as she lifted him up. She gently tugged it away from his foot and held onto it for him, not wanting the weight to bother him. She put him on the left side of the mattress, laying him down on his back before wrapping the left side of the blanket around him, before beginning to roll him to the right with layers of blanket being added to the cocoon as she gently rolled him along.

Once she was done, Heksis had completely fallen asleep in his blanket cocoon, eyes closed shut with a blissful look on his face. That should keep him asleep for awhile.

Kelvi needed to take a little nap. She hadn't been playing with him as much as usual, but she was tired nonetheless. She'd sleep on the couch, a small nap would certainly do her good.

The eliksni walked out of her child's room, her bare feet walking on the cold stone floor. Hek's room was connected to the living room, which would make it easier for her to walk back in once Heksis had woken up. She made her way over to the couch, briefly examining the piece of furniture as she made her way over to it. Soon as she did, she spun around, quickly leaning back and falling onto the leather couch. Once her upper half had landed, she quickly lifted her legs up off the ground, one at a time, putting them on the couch. But, to her surprise, her left leg rested on a small heavy but soft object. Hek's plushie must have been left out in the living room, why Heksis had left his favorite toy out in the living room she didn't know. She looked back down toward her left leg to confirm her suspicions, and...as expected, had the Yuzka plushie come into view. The fake Yuzka was beautiful in its appearance, colored string had been weaved together, and then stuffed with thousands of tiny little pebbles. The weight of the toy was meant to give the children a little exercise when they carried it.

It certainly seemed to work. Heksis must've gotten tired and given up on carrying it for a little while.

She leaned her head back, her head falling back on the cushion of the couch. The pillows had been thrown off, so her head rested on the bottom cushion. She looked up, briefly examining the smooth and polished ceiling, the glow of her eyes faintly reflecting against the polished granite surface. Hek would probably wake up in a few hours, and when he did, he would make noise until she got went back to get him. He certainly didn't like being trapped in his cradle. She wouldn't either.

She was going to enjoy this nap...

(Happy New Year! I know this chapter isn't as long my other chapters have been, but don't worry the next chapter will have more. I'd like to give a big thank you to SurefireReadingFF for all the wonderful support. Editing and revising parts of my chapters, giving tips and suggestions. This story wouldn't have gotten this far of joy for him. So if you haven't already, go give him a follow, and check his stories out. A more grown up Heksis will be making an appearance in The Lost House. But, most of all, I'd like to thank my readers, who power my fanfic forward. I'm open to any ideas that you guys have for this story, so long as it seems to fit into the destiny universe. You can message me on Kik or Skype!

Skype: Redfishcam

Kik: Redfishcamm

Feel free to tell me any of your ideas! Happy 2017!)


	5. Chapter 4 Woken The Hive

Chapter 4

Hungry. That was the first thing that came to mind when Heksis woke up from his nap. The boy's eyes opened slowly, and a quiet yawn escaped his throat as his eyes adjusted. The faint glow of his eyes shined through the thin screen that had been placed on the top of his cradle. He lifted his head up but struggled somewhat since his blanket was still wrapped around him. His arms had been on his chest, giving himself a hug. His legs were pointed down, with his all four of his tiny little toes sticking out at the end.

Eliksni feet were made for holding onto objects. Two long front toes on each foot, with triangular toenails that felt as hard as iron. Hek looked at his toes for a little bit, moving his toes down and up, pretending he was trying to grasp something sturdy like his mother's arm or perhaps the tree nearby. He shaped them essentially into hooks and could practically feel the wood from the tree beneath them. He wasn't entirely sure what it actually felt like, but he thought it could only be as soft as his mother.

He gave them another small flex as he licked his mandibles, cleaning the pink gums right between his dull little, dull teeth. His arms were still hugging himself and slowly falling asleep as he sit awake. So he went to work, wiggling his body backwards until the left side of the back of his head gently hit the wooden bar behind him. It didn't hurt very much, and the pain soon faded away. He'd made progress, about a third of his body had managed to escape the cocoon. His top arms were free! He lifted the arms up, turned himself so the bars he had hit his head on were on his left. He made a quick glance behind him to check the distance between the bars behind him. Pretty good distance. He'd have plenty of space.

He leaned back, putting his feet on the ground, lifting his waist up, and beginning to push the blanket down with his upper arms. His lower arms were closer now. The blanket had gone down to his feet. So kept pushing until his lower arms were free, and once they were, he laid his head back, pushing the rest of the blanket off of him with his feet. Finally! He was free!

He gave a small glance behind him to check the distance he had been from the bars. The pup wasn't even close to them. In fact, it seemed like he hadn't moved at all!

"Wait for Mommy." The boy's conscious told himself. If he got out of the cradle, Mommy might get upset with him, and then she would find a way to stop him from getting out again, another screen probably. Now he felt a little conflicted. If he waited he might lose some opportunity forever. If he went he might get in trouble, and then he wouldn't ever be able to climb out of his cradle again on his own. He debated about which decision was best for a few seconds. She was super smart. She'd find out eventually. She probably already found a way to prevent him from escaping his cradle before he got the chance to escape at all.

He came up with a plan as he looked around the room, briefly planning his escape. He stopped as soon as he saw the Javlok plant. It had been put in the left corner of the room, encased in a vertical, rectangular glass terrarium. One face of the rectangle had a small door on it, which could be opened. It looked easy to open. Just lift the small metal thing in the middle that held the two glass pieces together. He'd only gotten a small glimpse at the Javlok plant. A wide, wood looking stem, covered in hard scaly bark. The leaves had been small, but there were hundreds of them, all growing on little sticks that protruded along the sides of the stem. The color of the small leaves was dark blue, with one or two light green lines crossing the plant. The small branches were green, and covered in thin, short hair that was covered in drops of dew.

Hek hadn't gotten a look at the top of the plant. But when he saw it, it did fascinate him.

At the top was a large square shaped flower, with the vibrant orange petals being similar to the hair covered branches, except the hair on the petals was long, and thinner than the hair on the branches. 'Strange,' Hek immediately thought. There were few plants on the mountaintop, and he hadn't gotten to see very much. Especially since he's never left his house without his mother watching him non stop.

He'd keep the Javlok in mind, but right now he'd need to focus on his escape from the cradle.

He'd stood up before, walking on his feet. But he always went back to crawling nonetheless. It was much more fun that way. He put his upper arms up to the bars in front of him, quickly gripping the wooden bars as tightly as his tiny little hands would allow. He brought his lower arms up, and they too grabbed onto the bars tightly. He'd have to pull himself up, maybe use his feet to hang on too.

He let go of the bars with his upper hands, reaching up higher and holding on again. Already, he was halfway there. But the weight was beginning to take its toll on him. Sure, he'd carried his Eriv around everywhere he went, but even he had his limits. After all, he was just a child, and his physical prowess was certainly lacking. He continued to climb up the wooden bars as best as he could.

He held onto them as best as he could, a small burning sensation forming inside the muscles of his upper arms. But he had to keep going! He was close now, only one step more and he would be at the top of the cradle. His left leg fell down, hanging uselessly as he let go of the bars with his upper arms, reached up further; held on again, and then let go of the bars with his lower arms, and pulling himself up further. Now only need to do that one more time and then he would be at the top of the cradle. Then he'd lift the small screen top up, and climb out. This has taken a long time, longer than even he thought it would, and his stomach probably felt the same way, because it let out a low growl as he began to repeat what he had done before, letting go of the bars with his upper hands and reaching up.

The growl was light, but it was enough to remind him that he was hungry amongst his climbing. He held on with his upper arms, letting go with his lower and pulling himself up. He felt a soft chink as his little head hit the screen top. He'd made it to the top, finally.

The screen wasn't very hard to push up, there was no lock or weight holding it in place. It was as easy as lifting it up, sticking his head in the gap between the railing and the screen top, and pulling himself up. He pulled himself up, his belly lying on the railing, his lower arms firmly holding onto it. Now he had a perfect view of the room, except this time it was from above.

The room was about 23 steps long, and 17 steps wide. Relatively small compared to the rest of the rooms, but it was very large to Heksis. A thick but soft white foam covered the floor and the walls of the room, meant to protect Hek in case he fell down, which he had done many many times. His toys were littered across the room. His small red pacifier was on a small table to his left, his old wooden shape puzzle was in front of the cradle, and his small bright red play ribbon was on the floor, one end going toward the left corner and the other toward the right corner.

The gifts mother had given him were in a small box, which was also in the left corner and right next to the Javlok plant terrarium. The rest of the room was barren. He'd never gotten to see it from this height. Momma was taller than the cradle, and she'd picked him up before, but he'd never been scooped up while he was in a playful mood, only when he was tired or close to it. And even then, seeing the room was impossible, since she always picked him up with his head facing her neck or her shoulder, so he'd never gotten to see it.

He'd need to stay away from the right side, that was where the door was. She might be able to see him if he walked in front of the door. But he'd need to think about that later. Right now he needed to focus on getting down quietly…

It hasn't taken taken long for Heksis to make his way down. The floor was soft enough for him to just jump off, but he chose not to do that, even though he could. He didn't want to take the chance and make noise, or mommy would hear him or reached the bottom of the cradle, holding onto it as tightly as he could as he straightened his feet out, preparing to land. The boy let go of the bars, and fell down onto the floor in a millisecond, landing on his feet for a brief moment before stumbling clumsily and falling backwards onto the floor, letting out a small gentle squeak as his back hit the floor. The toddler stood there for a moment, looking up at the cold stone ceiling of the room with a blank look on his face. He was free now. So now he'd need to get back up and begin his little adventure.

The Javlok plant was still in the corner, sitting quietly. Did it not wish to speak? Or did maybe it just could not speak loud enough for him to hear? Or...maybe it was because it was inside a glass box thing, which probably muffled the noise. Either way, Heksis wanted to check it out. He rolled to the side and moved his head back, with his body lifting up as his knees now began to support it. He put one little foot up, before pushing himself up, lifting the other one up as he rose. Both feet now on the ground, he made his way over to the terrarium. The soil that the plant was based in was mossy, like dried out green lichen. His stomach growled quickly, immediately assuming that the plant was covered in something he could eat. And he certainly believed it was. His stomach let out another gentle growl as he reached the terrarium.

He reached out with his upper left hand, to the two small little glass doors that were connected by a gray metal hook on the left door sliding through a polished bronze ring in the right side.

Lifting it was easy, he simply pinched the hook with his hand and lifted it up, freeing it from the little ring that held the two doors together. He pulled the doors back, and almost immediately he could smell the soil. The soil certainly looked like the lichen he'd loved to snack on, but this was different. It looked dried, dead, and yet, he could still see the specks of dew on the surface. The smell did not seem right to him. So he chose not to put it in his mouth. It was an instinctive response, to not eat things that smell bad. And then...there was the plant itself. It's beauty was far more apparent from this distance.

He could see now that it was not as square-shaped as he had thought it had been. It was rectangular. It's vibrant orange petals had small irregular blobs of yellow near the edges. The petals had hair covering their edges, which looked just like the hair on the small branches, except it was thinner and longer. The plant was illuminated by the large bar above the glass box, which gave the plant the light it needed.

The boy liked the look of the flowers, with their silky and vibrant look giving him a nice feeling of calm. He quickly felt the urge to touch it, and he gave into the urge, with his right upper hand immediately reaching over to it, with one of his fingers reaching out and touching one of the petals. He felt a slight sting as the silky hair of the petals curled around the tip of his finger. It moved, so it must be able to speak. But where was it's mouth? His questions were quickly answered when he felt a thought in his mind. "This plant should be put in a better spot."

The thought was not his own, he knew, but he did not know that. He let out a small whisper toward the still plant.

"Why should it be put in a better spot?" Heksis asked quietly, not wanting to alert Kelvi.

"This plant believes it is too humid in this place." The plant said, with the thought echoing in Hek's mind. This thought was not his own. And yet the voice was his own. The plant communicated mentally then. Strange.

"Humid? What's that? How can you tell?" He asked. He spoke, but he still needed to think about what he said before he said. He still had a mild struggle with words, placing the syntax where it needed to be. The Javlok made his coherent thoughts even more difficult to put into words, replacing his words before he noticed.

'This plant does not know how.' It replied. This plant unnerved him, made him uncomfortable. Hek did not like this, he didn't like having his mind be used like a microphone for the strange creature before him.

"Well I can't carry you. Only mommy can do that," he said.

'Then get them so they can carry the Javlok.' It replied. Heksis pulled his finger back slightly, and the small needle hairs loosened from his finger, letting him go. The voice was no longer in his head. He thought to himself.

"I should go wake her up." He said aloud, words coming from his mouth, and the thoughts of the words he spoke echoed through his thin mental corridors. Yes. These were his own thoughts. He wanted to wake up Mom and move the plant.

The child looked back at the plant, staring at its orange flower like he would stare at a face. Analyzing it, scanning for emotion. He saw nothing. Nothing but stillness.

He decided to move on, and try to understand this strange experience with mommy. He backed up, closing the glass doors shut, putting the hook through the ring, and turned around. Eriv was missing. He wasn't in the room with Heksis. Where had he gone?

The boy planned on finding out where his stuffed companion had gone, he couldn't have gone far. He was heavy and had short little feet. Only way he could get out was if Mother let him out. But why would she do that? He must have left, gone exploring perhaps. Yes. He must have done that. Maybe he was encouraging Heksis to follow? Perhaps Heksis was meant to leave his crib, to follow the Yuzka. That seemed like a good explanation to his little mind.

Hek would be lying if he said that he didn't feel ashamed for disobeying his mommy. But...how bad could it be? He wouldn't hurt himself, and he was a good boy. He wouldn't do anything to hurt himself or anyone else.

Another loud growl came from his stomach, which sent gentle vibrations throughout his soft furry belly.

Hungry. Still hungry. Perhaps the search for Eriv would have to wait. Heksis couldn't reach the food box where mommy kept all the yummy food. So he'd need to wake her up.

The little eliksni stumbled his way over toward the oval shaped door, put one little foot after another as he walked upright. The feeling was weird to him, and his spine felt bent, like it was in an unnatural stance. But the feeling subsided in less than a second, and his spine felt like it had split into multiple little spines all connected together.

He could get used to walking like this, but he still enjoyed crawling and at his age it was much less time consuming than walking was. But he stayed his course, walking forward toward the door until he was right in front of it. All he needed to do was take one step forward and he would be out of his room and inside the living room. He stepped forward, looking around as he searched for Kelvi. Loud snore-like grunting noises could be heard from the couch, and Heksis could who it was coming from.

Kelvi had her eyes shut tightly as she slept, with the Yuzka plushie on her left near her waist, upside down on its back and staring away from her. Several loud grunts were being produced in her throat, with her mouth making little 'wheeeeeessp' noises as she exhaled. Her mandibles were curled around each other, which was the reason for the noise. Her brain reactivated, a single spark lighting up inside her mind, waking all the cells, all the neurons, big and small. Like a single spark in a barrel of heating fuel. The whole thing burst into light.

Her middle left eye twitched slightly in annoyance after the neurons had fired up, little flicks of blue lights escaping from her glowing eyes, which were covered by her eyelids, which then pulled back, allowed the light to touch the ceiling, and then closed again.

She did this a few times, with both of the left eyes on her face now twitching to life. She didn't notice the small child clumsily walking up to her on the left side as she continued to do her best to fall back asleep, still in a subconscious state.

Her right eyes twitched to life in unison as well, with the ceiling now being barraged with small and short bursts of blue light as her eyes opened and closed. They continued to twitch, until her conscious took over and she finally awoke, a crusty feeling could be felt around her eyes, the kind you feel when you haven't gotten enough sleep. She had experienced this feeling many times since Yav had gone missing. Taking care of Heksis alone was difficult sometimes.

The adult let out a loud yawn as Hek passed her, which alerted the boy to her presence. Before she hadn't made a sound. All the pup did was make a small turn to his left, and Eriv came into view. Laying on his side in the middle of the couch, the plushie laid there in a sassy, annoyed way. The fake Yuzka's long spiked tail hung idly off the side of the couch, with his legs stiffly pointing out toward Hek. Lazy and carefree. How Eriv had gotten up on the couch was unknown to Hek. Why he was laying with mommy was also unknown. Why was mommy laying there, acting like she was sleeping? He had never seen her sleep. It just wasn't something he thought she was capable of doing. A child can think that, especially since she's never really taken breaks with him. Eriv. The plushie must have done something. He must have used a spell of some sort on her. Putting her to sleep just because he wanted to be able to sleep on the couch! How selfish of him! Just because Mom wouldn't let him sleep on the couch doesn't mean that he had to make her fall asleep! All she was doing now was breathing, taking deep breaths into her lungs and stretching her mandibles out, spreading them out widely and cleaning them with her long purple tongue. Yes. Eriv must have put her to sleep just so he could sleep there! What else could have happened? Eriv was just a bad bad Yuzka! Very very bad!

He quickly set to work, clumsily walking over to the couch on his shaky feet, knocking against it slightly as he held onto the edge of it tightly with his upper arms. Kelvi didn't notice it. In fact, she was still running her long tongue down her mandibles, brushing it against them and cleaning out any leftovers from meals hiding between the teeth on her left mandibles. Hek was at the middle of the couch, trying to pull himself up uselessly, letting out a small grunt of frustration as he began to try again, before his lower right arm bumped against Eriv's spiked tail. He turned to it, analyzing the long gray tail, and giving the two spikes at the end of the tail a little poke just for amusement. The plushie spikes were pushed back by the touch. Eriv had a problem, his spikes weren't as hard as they should've been. And for some reason he couldn't move at all... But it probably wasn't a big deal. He could use the tail to climb up. Yes. Great idea!

Kelvi finished up cleaning on the left side, giving a small huff to celebrate her completion. Hek had already grabbed onto the tail, and began to try to pull himself up. Her body turned to the side that Hek was on as he started to climb, a part of her waist pressing down on the Yuzka plushie and holding it down a bit. There was a weird, jerking movement that she felt near her waist, and she quickly determined that something was moving near her. So she prepared to open her eyes, moving her waist back as she prepared to look near it, which caused Eriv to slowly begin to be pulled back because she wasn't pressing down on him anymore. Once her eyes had opened she looked down to her waist and immediately saw the rear end of Hek's yuzka plushie, and to her surprise, his furry little head sticking up near the end of the couch, with both of his little upper arms holding onto the tail of the plushie as tightly as they could as Eriv slowly was pulled toward the edge by his weight. Soon as it reached the edge he would fall down onto the cold stone floor, and the plushie would fall down on him. It only took only a millisecond for her to connect the dots and all four of her blue spectral eyes widened almost immediately, with her upper right arm shooting out toward the end of the tail to grab onto it. But it was too late, and the plushie reached the edge of the couch, and Heksis looked at her, a confused and surprised look on his face. How could his plan have failed?! His weight pulled the pebble filled yuzka off the couch and fell, with his mother's upper arm reaching out to him but to no avail.

The drop was small, only two and a half steps. And Heksis was just three steps tall. But the distance didn't matter. The floor was what she worried about. A look of horror immediately struck Kelvi's face as he fell, lifting herself up and ignoring the stretch of her once asleep tendons and sinews as she looked over the edge to see if her little boy was okay. Eriv had fallen in Hek's face as he'd held onto the side of the couch, and having the plushie full of pebbles fall down on him made him stumble backwards a bit before falling down on his bottom, with Eriv rolling off his face and onto his lap. The boys arms hung idly at his sides, with his body slouching forward as a slightly pained expression formed on his face.

Kelvi lifted herself up all the way now, turning to face Heksis as the painful look on his face grew. 'Oh dear...' She instantly thought as she saw the look on his face. Poor little Heksis. How had he gotten out of his crib? His upper left hand lifted up to his forehead, pressing the hand against his head.

"It's okay. Aww you poor baby. It's okay. It's okay..." She cooed, speaking to him in her baby voice as the pained expression started to fade away. And as soon as it did, what Heksis did surprised her. The pained expression faded completely, and his eyes twitched slightly. Then, her little boy burst into laughter, falling on his back as he laughed maniacally at his own misfortune. The noise of his laughs brought her out of her short pause, with her mandibles slowly pressing against each other in a smile. The laughing was a gentle and chirpy "Jah", repeatedly exhaled from the pup over and over like the sweet symphony of a song on the radio. It was precious to her. Her boy laughed at his misfortune. Everything was amusing to him. Even his own bad luck. The yuzka was still lying in front of him, laying on its weaved belly and looking toward Hek as his laughs weakened.

"You're a funny one aren't you?" Kelvi said, speaking like she normally would instead of in her gentle calming cooing voice.

Hek started to cease his laughter now, getting over the funny little mistake he'd made and lifting his head forward again, still sitting down on the cold floor.

"I woke you up momma. Eriv put you to sleep so he could sleep on the couch without you stopping him! He's a bad 'uzka!" Heksis exclaimed, struggling to pronounce Yuzka correctly at the end. 'Eriv?' she immediately thought, confused about who he was talking about. He looked down at Hek's eyes and saw how they were looking at the plushie in front of him. Ah yes. Eriv. How he had produced such a name she did not know. And Heksis seemed to believe that the plushie was magically or something. And that it had put her to sleep so it could sleep on the couch without her stopping him.

"Ahhh...I see." She said, pretending to take a few seconds longer to understand Hek. "Yes he must be a very bad Yuzka. But you woke me up so it's okay now. I'll make sure to keep him with you so he won't get in anymore trouble."

Hek simply gave her a quick nod of agreement as he began to try to lift himself up onto his feet, walking forward toward her as soon as he was on two legs. He reached the edge of the couch and she quickly lifted him up by his shoulders, setting him down on her lap with one of her lower arms around him just to be sure that he wouldn't fall off or anything.

"How did you get out of your room?" Mother asked him, letting him lean against her.

"I climbed to the top and back down Mommy." The boy said simply, with Kelvi putting the pieces together quickly and setting an image in her mind of him climbing up the bars, lifting the screen top, and then climbing back down. Heh. Carrying that plushie around had certainly given him some muscles.

"Good job little one." She said plainly, making sure she didn't speak in a rewarding voice, or in a disappointed voice. A plan immediately came to mind for how she'd be able to keep the toddler in his crib. She knew he wouldn't be a toddler for much longer, eliksni grew pretty quickly when they were young. But until then she had an idea.

"How about I keep Eriv in your crib every time you sleep in it, so he won't be able to escape. He isn't as good of a climber as you are buddy." Yes. That would do it. Heksis wouldn't leave the crib because he didn't want Eriv to escape from his room. As for the belief that the fake Yuzka was magical or something...she assumed it was simply inspired by the books she'd read to him.

"What are you gonna do to him now though Mommy?" He asked curiously.

"I'm gonna give him a little warning. He understands what he did was wrong." She mumbled, not really in the mood to 'punish' an inanimate object.

"Okay Mommy." He said, still leaning against her. A small growl came from his stomach, gentle but loud enough for her ears to detect it.

"Are you hungry?" She asked. He nodded in response.

"Okay. Let me go fix something up for you. Maybe some sweet dough. I'll show you how to make it," she said, with a happy look forming on the boys face. Back to work.

Time flew by like the wind blew through the mountains.

Fast, uncontrolled, and unplanned.

Heksis had finished up his meal and both of them had decided to go outside for a little bit. It was spring now, and the aviasni migrate to the valleys and the fields beyond the mountain range. It was summer after all. The plants were beginning to sprout. The smaller animals were awakening from their slumber. Why would they stay here in the mountains? There was more food for the beasts elsewhere. Yes, the aviasni were gone, and that opened up a great opportunity to allow Heksis to play outside again. The snow was still present. But it wasn't as thick as it was before. Hek would be able to walk through it without sinking deep into the snow. Kelvi had given him a few minutes after he'd devoured all of the sweet dough she'd given him, she didn't want him to get sick or something. Once he'd had enough time she walked back over to the table, looking over at the end of the table, where Heksis had been set down in the chair, sitting on a couple of pillows which elevated him enough for his head to be above the edge of the table. In front of him was a small square shaped white plate, with small brownish orange markings around the edges, there were four in total in the middle of each side. They were the symbols of the makers of the fine piece of ceramic.

In the middle of the plate there were a dozen or so sugary crumbs, all from the sweet dough she'd given him. And as expected, he had inhaled them all, probably not even bothering to enjoy the taste like she would've. His mandibles were covered in pieces of the light brown dough, with most of the little pieces lodged between the small shark like teeth.

Their eyes met, but his shined brighter than hers. Some eliksni had brighter eyes than others. The look he gave was adorable to her, all large blue spectral eyes staring at her with unending curiosity. The eyes themselves were large compared to the size of his head, and they seemed to 'pop' out, giving him a very goggly appearance. But they weren't popping out, a small movement of the head to look at Heksis from another angle confirmed it. His eyes certainly did have a luminous glow to them, like four blue stars.

"You enjoy that dough?" She cooed, getting only two rapid nods from the whelp, who was running his tongue around the mandibles to clean them.

"All your gonna give me is a nod? I need more specifics." She said, pretending to sound annoyed.

Hek pulled his tongue back and a gentle croak came from his throats as he prepared to speak.

"It tastes sweeter than it was last time." The boy muttered, his voice muffled slightly since his tongue had already gone back to cleaning his mandibles.

"I added a lil more sugar to it. You like it?" Adding more sugar would definitively mean he'd be getting less sweet dough in the long run. But there was no need to tell him of this. He wouldn't understand it anyways.

Hek gave another nod of agreement, still cleaning out the remaining pieces of sweet dough from his teeth, making little grunting noises as he did. Yeah, he definitely preferred having more sugar added to his treats.

She gave him about half a minute to clean all the remaining pieces out. He blinked twice rapidly, four eyes squinting slightly and his mandibles spreading out to the sides slightly as he inhaled deeply. He breathed in deeply one more time before he let out a loud squeaky sneeze, wildly shaking his head as he did, with saliva and crumbs flying forward onto his plate. He hadn't exactly mastered the concept of proper eating yet. She'd teach him soon though. She planned to take him outside and let him play around for awhile.

"You wanna go outside buddy?" She asked him, with the whelp giving her another nod of approval once again. She had an idea for where she would take him. There was a small cave nearby, on the side of a small rocky hill. Close by, right near the edge of the mountain. But she didn't need to worry about him falling off, she'd watch him the whole time. But once they got into the cave they'd be perfectly safe, and Heksis would be able to play around all he wanted to. He'd still need to be careful though. As hard as his eliksni bones were, he was still but a child. And he wasn't invincible by any means whatsoever. She and Yaviks had gone to the cave before in the past to hang out together. They'd had a little honeymoon together in the cave the last time they'd been together. She tried her best to not let the memory affect her negatively. Heksis would be able to tell if she was sad. Yaviks had never taken this long before, and she admitted that she had started to worry about her beloved. Sometimes she'd stare at the ceiling in her bed at night and just wonder. Where was her beloved? Still, she remained faithful, putting up signs for him and asking every traveling merchant she met if they'd seen Yaviks.

Kelvi had zoned out slightly, staring at the wall behind Heksis for a few seconds as Heksis stared at her curiously before speaking up. Her eyes still stared at the wall as he began to speak.

"Momma? What are you doing?" He asked in a confused tone, the thin mane around his neck puffing out slightly. She shook her head slightly, blinking a few times before looking back down at him and pressing her mandibles together in a smile. He immediately responded by trying to make a similar expression, copying her as best as he could. The "smile" an eliksni made was simply done by pressing both pairs of mandibles against each other.

Heksis tried his best to copy it, spreading his mandibles out slightly before tucking them back. Both of his pairs of mandibles pressed against each other which created the illusion of cheeks. He pressed them against each other, but failed when the left mandible brushed over the other, which produced a crooked but cute smile. The boy did his best to copy her, which was all she asked from him. He still stared at her curiously as she answered him, with that adorable crooked smile still on his face.

"Oh. Just thinking about things Heksis." Mommy replied, leaning forward slightly, which Heksis assumed was her getting ready to pick him up. He grunted out a gentle "Orrrrff" from his throat as he eagerly lifted his upper arms up above his head ready to be picked up. He was ready to get out of this seat and off of these pillows. The adult granted his request, leaning forward more and grabbing his hands with her lower arms, lifting him up close to her head and putting his head on her top right shoulder and giving him a warm and loving hug. She brought her upper left arm up to his back as her lower arms held Hek's body against her tighter. She began to give his back some gentle pats and he felt a gentle growl come from his stomach as he let out a muffled burp. He couldn't help but purr slightly as she finished patting him on the back, the feeling of his mothers body's heat relaxing him. The feeling he'd had while she'd pat his back was strange, and he was relieved that she'd stopped. He couldn't help but to close his eyes slightly, enjoying the body heat his mother was sharing with him.

Kelvi felt a small amount of satisfaction as she held him against her. Before the eliksni had really started to settle down, the eliksni were nothing but a bunch of nomadic tribes, traveling the planet. She imagined what that would be like. Moving all the time. Always going to new places, seeing new things. Before the Great Machine came and blessed the eliksni with its gifts, she would've needed to follow behind the other members of the group, holding Heksis against her to protect him from the cold. It felt natural. But she didn't want Heksis to fall asleep yet. Not yet. She wanted to take him to the cave so he could explore, there were bound to be a few animals or plants inside the cave that Heksis would be able to see and ask about. She decided to ask him if he was interested. But he needed to promise her something.

"Would you like to go outside? I know one place you would love to see. But you have to make me a promise." Momma said calmly into his ear, which made him cease his relaxed purring and open his eyes up slightly in surprise.

"What is it?" He asked, all eyes fully open now. Explore? Outside? Fun!

"Promise me that you won't touch anything? Without my permission? I wouldn't let anything ever happen to you but I don't want you to find something that you've never seen and then decide to stuff it in your mouth. You need to be responsible. Can you do that?" She asked, her soft voice sounding serious all of a sudden. Hearing her speak like that concerned him slightly, but the chance to go outside was one that he'd do anything for! He wouldn't eat anything! Or touch anything! Unless she gave him permission!

"Yes Ma'am." He said as he gave her a small nod, doing his best to contain his excitement. But Kelvi could tell that he was excited to go outside. He hadn't gone outside in awhile.

"Alrighty then buddy. Let's get going. It's just a short walk from here Heksis." She said, letting go of him with her upper arms with her lower ones grabbing him by the waist and setting him down. He was getting bigger, about 3 steps tall now. She turned toward the door, feeling a soft, small three fingered hand reach up and hold her bottom left hand, which had been hanging at her side. She smiled.

It hasn't taken long for them to get to the cave that she'd told Heksis about. The snow was thin, but still made a distinctive crunch as she walked. Hek's footsteps were silent, with his weight probably making her light as a feather compared to her. They walked around a tall grey rock as Kelvi did her best to remember where the caves location was. The tall rock was a landmark, the cave should be right behind it. And of course, she was correct, the entrance to the cave immediately came into view in the same place she had remembered it to be. The entrance was a small rectangle shaped hole, just big enough for her to fit through. It wasn't exactly a perfect fit, and she'd need to pull herself through to enter. But the inside was the only thing that really mattered to her. The inside of the cave had plenty of space. She stepped forward to look inside, but Heksis stopped her when he tugged on her arm.

Heksis hadn't really enjoyed the trip to the cave as much as he thought he would. But his mother hadn't offered to carry him to the cave, so maybe she just didn't want him to be left out or something. Yes, that was the only answer he could come up with. Maybe because she needed her arms free or something. Either way, he'd been at her side the whole time, holding onto her hand as his eyes examined everything that they saw. He gazed to his left, spotting a single purple sphere far off in the distance, and immediately he held onto her hand tighter and gave it a light tug to get her attention. Whatever he saw was flying toward them. Heksis quickly assumed it was a servitor, just like the ones Kelvi had told him about in her stories, a large mechanical sphere. She'd told him that they were wise machines, built by the Great Machine to watch over eliksnios. She said she'd only spoken to a servitor once in her lifetime, aboard a ship she'd taken to visit the Great Machine herself. Momma said it had been very helpful with navigation and advice. But, whatever the purple sphere flying towards them was, a thin trail of purple energy was streaking behind it. Certainly it was a servitor, Kelvi had told him that they all had one purple eye in the center.

"Mommy? What is that?" He asked, giving another tug at her hand which finally made her turn to the left to see the strange object. A look of dread appeared on her face, immediately assuming it was a danger of some kind. The sphere zoomed toward them, in about half a minute it would be here. Whatever it was. Kelvi couldn't help but feel defensive, and her hand tightened on her sons hand.

"It's a servitor mommy! Remember? Like the one you told me about!" He said reassuringly, obviously unaware of the possibility of it being a threat. He believed she'd forgotten. Her head swiveled to the right again, seeing the small crevice. Just big enough for Heksis to fit through. Her feet began to move forward before she even thought about putting Heksis inside the cave. Her steps were long compared to Hek's, especially since she was rushing toward the crevice with Heksis hanging onto her hand as his feet were dragged through the snow as he tried to keep up.

'What is she doing?' The boy immediately thought as he followed her through the thin snow as best as he could. They quickly reached it, and Kelvi quickly picked him up by grabbing his upper arms and lifting him up so he was in front of her, he couldn't help but to giggle slightly as she lifted him up, thinking that it was her playing with him. She brought him up to the crevice and set him down inside the cave, but since she was rushed, she'd set him down on an uneven surface, and soon as he tried to turn around to look around in the cave he slipped and fell on his back with a gentle thump. He heard her gasp with surprise, but she made no effort to help him. She then turned around and swiveled her head back toward the cave. Their eyes met. Heksis huffed out a gentle cough as she spoke to him

"Heksis. Listen to me." She said in the most serious voice he had ever heard as she stared into his soul. What was wrong with her? She sounded scared. He couldn't help but to begin to feel scared as well.

"What's wrong?" He asked in his childish way. His face was worried now, if mommy was scared he was scared because he didn't want mommy to be scared. No one should be scared.

"Heksiss...My light." She said in a calm voice to him, her voice still infected with fear.

"Stay right here. Don't move from this spot. I'll be back soon." She said, quickly worrying that she'd never see him again. No. She would. He'll be fine.

"Mommy?" Heksis could see the small purple light traveling toward them now from behind mommy. The hints of fear may have been infesting his mind but even that was not enough to shake off the child's curiosity. Was it a servitor? It must be! What else was purple and could float wherever it pleased? He leaned to the side to glance out of the cave just a little bit, and he saw nothing but a ball of swirling, purple energy. The ball was not encased inside of a metal sphere.

"M-" He tried to warn as the axion dart flew forward toward them, landing right behind Kelvi and then exploding. The flash of purple light blinded Heksis as he felt a loud crack above him and below him. The stone beneath his feet cracked collapsed from the explosion, and he was only able to let out a gentle squawk of surprise as gravity pulled him down, the roof of the cave collapsing down on the place he had been standing just a few seconds before. He fell for what felt like a millisecond, and as his yelling ceased he landed, hitting the back of his head on a rock behind him, knocking him out in an instant as the shattered pieces of the roof fell down on him. Darkness took him. And he was too weak to object.

Message From The Author: A thousand thank yous for all the wonderful support! And an honorable mention to SurefireReadingFF for checking my grammar and etc. Continue to send ideas to me by messaging me, or by including it in the review! Until the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 5 Survivor

Chapter 5

Heksis had never gotten the opportunity to socialize with other children of his age, he was too young, and Kelvi knew he was too clingy for her to be able to drop him off at a daycare. He was going to soon though, once he'd grown more. She'd had told him that he wasn't old enough to be on his own, but she said that in a few more months he'd be able to go. If he proved he was responsible enough, but that was before. This is now.

When he finally woke up, all he could see was stone, illuminated slightly by the spectral blue glow of his eyes. He felt himself begin to pant gentle, panicked puffs of humid air that lingered in front of him for a few seconds before fading. A wall of cracked stone was in front of him, multiple cracks between it running down to his feet. He followed the cracks up to the top, seeing how the stone was covered near the top by another stone. He lowered his head and followed the cracks down the wall of this crevice that he'd become stuck in, but shadowy forms prevented him from seeing all the way to the bottom. It took him a few seconds to realize that the stone had fallen on him. He curled his mandibles slightly in confusion, ordered his left leg to move up, but it only moved a little bit before a bolt of pain shot up his leg, trickled down his thigh and stabbed into his vertebrae. The boy hadn't ever felt anything like this before, he'd never experienced jagged pain like this, or much pain at all for that matter.

His eyes shined on the rocks slightly, and he couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly from the small yet striking reflection. Pain from the dripping tears and slices gnawed from below his knee. Tears gathered until he blinked, forcing them to slide down his face. He shut his mandibles tightly, pressing them against each other as a few drops ran down them to his throat, before a current of tears poured out and he let out a weak howl in pain. He couldn't hold it, he couldn't hold in a feeling like this, and he soon added onto the howling as he squawked out as hard as his lungs would allow, but there was no response aside from his own echo.

He still felt the pain in his leg, but howling seemed to vibrate his very being, tapping the small crack he felt at the very core of his lower leg. He alternated panting for air and yelping for help as the tears ran down to his mandibles and continued to streak down to his throat. The pain was paralyzing, crippling, and he felt like his body would give out from it all. He'd die, the black emptiness he'd felt every night in his crib creeping in, the quiet sleeping void that no consciousness could exit once submersed. He'd only dipped himself in it, peaceful sleep was something did enjoy greatly. But he didn't want to sleep forever, never to wake. He could hear a steady scraping sound above him, sounds of tearing and slashing that only reminded him of the noises Kelvi's knife made as she sliced up his meat for him into tiny easier to chew bits. A loud scream burst through the rocks above him, far too high pitched to come from anyone he knew. The horrible sound frightened him, far more than the squishy slashes that reminded him of cut meat made for him. He felt a cold shiver run through his neck, and his neck began to twitch, puffing the fur in his neck out. He shivered, and the vibration brought back the painful sensation in his leg. But he only let out a whimper, too weak to howl as loud as before and too scared to make any loud noises. He'd never felt this kind of emotion, never felt it's consistent grip: Fear. Not from what had happened, not from where he'd been trapped, but from the strange screams that pierced through the stone above him.

A scream can only come from a mouth. These couldn't have come from an eliksni like him. Hek's shoulder tightened against his body, with his upper left arm slowly being brought up to his mandibles and getting pushed into his mandibles, holding them there to keep them from opening and letting out even the smallest of noises. Only whimpers helped appease the pain in his leg, a loud howl or a pained squawk would only attract the attention of...whatever was above him. The urge to live surpassed any physical pain he could ever feel. It covered up the pain, smothering over it to prevent it from transforming into sound. He must survive. He must live. If the thing above him hears him, he won't live. So he had to be quiet, even when his leg seemed to scream at him, with the pain from the broken limb clawing at him to do the same. All he could do was sit there, fidgeting slightly and letting out a hushed whimper as he let the tears simply flow down his face down to his throat. The shaking felt uncontrollable. But his will to stay silent kept it from vibrating the rock fragments around him too much. He heard another scream from above, and he felt the vibration of another biped approach, feeling the faint vibrations as feet stepped through stone, and the rapid crunch of snow as it was carelessly trod upon. Two feet. He recognized the sound. He'd been able to feel the vibrations coming from his mother when she walked into the room. And yet...this was different. The creature above him walked on two feet, just like an adult would. Except the vibrations...the amount of snow he could faintly hear being crushed under their feet as the chilly winds howled in the background, as if the wind itself wished to silent the creature's approach. The two legged creature was lighter than an adult was, he could tell from the vibrations. They didn't weigh as much. No adult eliksni would weigh so little. Another scream pierced the calming mountain wind, ending with a lower pitch then before, as if communicating. He brought both of his upper arms up to his head, wrapping them around himself in a shivery self hug as another scream pierced into his shelter.

He could feel the gentle but steady grip of unconsciousness grasp his mind, but the boy was too frightened by whatever was above him to give into its embrace willingly. Both sets of arms were free, but they wouldn't be able to do much in this situation. Not right now. Both felt cramped, since there hadn't been much space for them. A small opening in the stone above him came into view, which was just a small little opening that the slab hadn't covered up when it fell down onto the hole. Another rock had fallen over it from what Heksis could see, and he soon began to hear the noises above him. Several loud panicked shouts and howls were coming from the distance, but Heksis could only barely hear them. From one place was the sound of someone landing down on the snow, sounding like they'd jumped down from a large rock or a small hill. The boy then began to hear several lightweight but rapid footsteps nearby, with the sound of snow crunching beneath feet being a heard on his ears for a few seconds before the snow had gotten crunched too much, and had flattened out. But that didn't scare him. Loud, mindless screams and high pitched cries barraged his ears, flooding in through the gaps between the stones above him. He felt his chest tighten as he felt something he'd never felt before. Fear.

The boy had passed out after a few minutes.

"I found them!" The voice muttered a word he'd never heard before. "We have a child over here!" The voice called out as he felt a light shine in his face brightly. He couldn't see anything. He felt the rock fragment holding his leg up lift. The suppressed tears ran freely.

"Mommy? I didn't move! Where are you?" he asked as the light was shined in his face, using his hands as shields.

"It's alright...Your mommy is okay." The voice soothed as he felt someone grab under his shoulders and lift him up. He couldn't do anything. No no no! Mommy said not to move! What if she came back and didn't find him? She'd be alone.

"No wait! My mommy said to stay there for when she comes back! I don't...I-I can't..." He muttered loudly as his arms went limp, his hands no longer protecting his face and the whole world being white. He felt reality begin slipping away...

That's when he heard his mommy's voice again. "Heksis. My light," was all he heard. And then everything faded to black, voices distant.

"He's going critical! Get him on the ship! He's the only one left! Now! Move it now!" The voice said. A scurry of movement and hurried footsteps. "Hurry! Hurry! He's the only one…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

At first, it was all black. Featureless void that encompassed everything around him. Heksis felt weightless, free even. From what he wasn't sure, but it was relieving nonetheless. Down the back of his neck he felt a soft hand gently stroke his fur. 'Mother,' he thought, but then the strokes stopped. Panic seized him, and his eyes flew open to reveal a similar blackness but this time with white dots shining against the limitless horizon. Then a stranger's face, silver with age along with deep green eyes, interrupted his view. Concern was the only thing Heksis could see on her face, much like that of his mother when he overstepped his own abilities.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright," she said with a sigh of relief. "You gave us quite the scare there Heksis."

He strained to look left and right. "H-how do you know my name?" he rasped. "W-where am I? Wh…" A finger covered his mouth.

"Shhhh," the stranger cooed. "I know you have a lot of questions, but please take it easy. We can't have you hurting yourself even more." Heksis looked down at his leg. The pain was practically nonexistent, but there was a strange looking covering on his leg. The inside felt smooth against his fur, but the outside looked rather rough.

"My leg...it doesn't hurt," he observed aloud.

The stranger chuckled. "I would hope not little one. We gave you some special medicine while you were asleep to make it not hurt while it gets better."

"W-while I was asleep?" he asked. He tore his eyes away from the strange thing on his leg and saw several cords protruding from his arms. The sight of them scared him, but as he moved to take them out of his left arms, the stranger lightly restricted the rights from moving anywhere past his chest.

"I wouldn't touch those," she warned. "Those are what will make you better."

"Oh," he responded. His eyes followed the cables into strange machines around him that beeped and buzzed. The stranger followed his gaze and said, "Yep. Those too." She shifted in her seat and adjusted the white cloak she wore around her. "Can I get you anything to drink or eat?"

"I want my mommy," he stated plainly.

An uncomfortable look flashed across her face. "I'm not sure where she is darling. Sorry, but you have me. I'm Dasia."

"I don't want Dasia," he refused as tears began to well up in his eyes. "I want my mommy."

Dasia quickly tried to push the tears out of his eyes, but they were immediately replaced by more, an unending flood as it dawned on Heksis that something wasn't right with the world. An emptiness began to fill him from the inside, and he didn't like it. "Please, please don't cry little one." She continued to try and stem the tears, but they only moved faster. She eventually stopped and began to stroke his fur as he cried himself back to sleep.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

BANG! Heksis jumped from his dreamless sleep to discover himself alone in a room different from the one he'd been in earlier. This one was all white with still the same machines, but the lack of environment outside was suffocating. The lights blinded Heksis as he opened his eyes. As his hearing woke up, he heard heavy footsteps and loud voices encroaching the large metal door. Quietly, Heksis waited, listening to the voices and trying to understand what was going on.

"Nurse, I strongly suggest you get out of my way," an angry, gruff voice ordered from beyond the door.

Then came the voice of Dasia. "With all due respect Captain, I can't let you. He's still in bad shape. Stressing him out will only make the situation worse. He was scared when I was in there with him a few hours ago, and I can't imagine someone like you would do any better." There was a loud crash against the door and a sharp yelp. Dasia's voice sounded a lot more strained. "I'd rather die than let you harm him."

"Would you now?" the gruff voice mused. There was a silence followed by a gasp. "That certainly can be arranged. After all, I am the Captain, and you are easily replaced."

"Please, Captain Giln, you can't do this. He's only a child. Barely out of infancy. What you do can scar him for life! Give me three days. I'll accelerate his meds, keep him asleep, just let him be." Dasia's voice sounded stressed and urgent.

"Ha! He'll learn one day how the world really works. Who says it can't be today. Now step aside before I make you!" There was an unpleasant scrape of metal against metal that forced Heksis to cover his ears in pain. "You're going to regret doing that," the rough voice muttered. Suddenly, Dasia screamed for but a moment, followed by a solid and wet thud against the floor. "Hmph," the voice growled. "Haul the body away, but leave the head."

Heksis didn't know what was to come, but he didn't like the sound of it. He quickly threw the white sheets over his head despite the small pricks of pain the cables in his arm sent. The door hissed open and then shut quickly after, accompanied by a faint dragging sound that was fairly noticeable only during the short window when the door was ajar. "Spineless fools," the figure Heksis assumed was Giln muttered. "Ought to kill every single of them on this ship." His voice picked up in volume. "Kid, let it be said that nobody has ever succeeded through inaction. If you want something to happen, you have to work for it. You want everyone to listen to what you, make a few examples of those who don't listen." Something heavy landed on the bed, and a dark wetness began gathering at his blanketed feet. A shadow covered where Heksis lay and suddenly, the weight shifted towards the end of the bed opposite of the wet weight. The wetness began to leak through the blanket and touch his uncasted leg.

"I'm not asking when I say you need to come out of that blanket, or I'll tear it to shreds myself." He was far from soothing and still sounded angry, but Heksis couldn't bring himself to do it. "Let me try that again," Giln said. "Come out or I'll rebreak that leg of yours and all of your other appendages." Heksis didn't know what an appendage was, but he certainly did not want to have his leg broken again. Slowly yet fearfully, he peered out from beneath the blanket and saw a broad, muscular Eliksni in gold and white clothing that was different from anything he'd seen before. It looked hard and covered almost every part of him except for his head. On his back was an odd strip of tough-looking material and a large black object that was blocky on one side and much thinner on the other. He had no clue what it was, but it frightened him almost as much as what the wetness was. On the right side of the bed was a head with dull green eyes, silver with age, Dasia. A reddish-purple liquid Heksis recognized as blood soaked the blanket and sheets from its place atop the bed, spreading closer to where he had retreated the foot that had touched it. Fear once again gripped him as he could not tear his eyes away from the severed head.

"Was that so hard?" Heksis continued to stare. Giln followed his stare to the head. "Quit staring at it kid, or the cowardice will rub off on you. She was soft, and in war, you can't afford to relent to anything. Feelings cloud judgement, and when everything goes wrong, you need to be able to pull yourself out of a bad situation without any hesitation, or you'll all end up dead."

Heksis stared for a moment longer, gazing into the blank, unseeing eyes and seeing the horror forever frozen in them during that last moment. Tears began to well up once more, but he successfully held these back, trying to stay strong like he knew his mommy would want him to be. He'd heard of people like this in the stories his mother once read, called them 'bullies,' and this Giln seemed to fit the descriptions to the letter, but he didn't know how to react to such a person and doubted he could do much with his leg.

He tore his gaze from the head and fixated it on the long silver piece of metal the large Eliksni held in his hand. The same reddish-purple blood coated the top section of it. "Disgusting,' Giln murmured. "I can see the cowardice corroding my blade." Giln's eyes turned toward the blanket. "You don't mind if I clean my sword do you?" Before Heksis could piece together a thought, the Captain wrenched the blanket from the corner of the bed and wiped the blood off the sword with it. Satisfied with its sheen, he pointed it Heksis direction so that it was a sharp, thin line in the center of his vision. "Never fight your enemy with a dirty blade. A clean blade makes your intentions crystal clear: you're focused only on their demise." Giln tilted the blade so that Heksis could see his own face in the metal. His eyes glowed bright, but his face read of horror, shock, and wonder. Everything stayed silent and deathly still. Heksis' eyes darted between his reflection in the blade and the severed head sitting in the corner. He found it hard to believe that it was, moments ago, living and breathing and trying to prevent this powerful and intimidating figure from entering. However, he didn't know what to make of this situation. His voice was serious and his demeanor aggressive, but he hadn't done anything to upset Heksis other than the still-frightening head that he began to avert his gaze from.

Giln suddenly retracted the blade and sheathed it. "Lessons for when you're older," he said, his voice becoming less angry but still intense. "Alright kid, there are two ways we can do this. Tell me what I need to know here and now, and I'll see what I can do to find your mother. Don't, and I can't guarantee your survival one way or another."

Heksis wasn't too sure what that entailed, but it didn't sound much better than having his leg broken again. "Okay," Heksis whispered. "I'll do whatever you want, just take me back to her." Just the thought of her lost in the cold began to bring tears to his eyes. He sniffled.

"Shut the waterworks. Warriors don't cry," Giln barked, scaring Heksis more, but the tears began to dry before they leaked out. He seemed to immediately regret raising his voice. "Sorry kid," he sighed. "Look, I'm under a lot of pressure right now, and I need you to work with me."

While the tears were gone, his voice was still quiet and choked up. "Only if you find my mommy."

"Fine, whatever. We'll find your mom," he muttered. Giln sat up straighter on the bed. Heksis could see the grey-white irises despite the brightness of the room. In them, there was a sense of mystery, of longing. A look he'd seen in his mother shortly after his father had disappeared. "First things first, what the-" He cleared his throat. "What were you doing in that cave?"

"I-I...I fell...between the cracks," he said gently. "I was playing with mommy, and we heard this strange noise. Then, she picked me up and put me on some rocks that fell when she walked away. One landed on my leg, and I couldn't move, but then mommy never came back."

Another sigh and a long silence. "Kid, I don't know how to tell you this, but your mother's dead. You were the only living thing when my team got there."

Heksis' heart sunk, and the tears returned. "Y-y-you mean...you're not going to look for her?"

"There's nothing left to look for!" he shouted but then looked regretful again. "I would love to help you, but there's nothing we can do. Someone attacked your village and killed everyone there, everyone except you. I need you to tell me who, so we can deal with them. So tell me what you know."

"You're not going to help me! Y-you said you would." Tears began to slide down his face. "I did what you asked. I told you what happened!"

"You told me nothing boy!" he shouted, causing Heksis to retreat. "You saw nothing helpful if we are to take your word for it, and your crying certainly will not help your case in front of a council much more aggressive than I am. If you don't want to face them, I implore you to tell me everything you know right now." Heksis' tears made it nearly impossible to see, and even more difficult to speak. What came out was a jumble of unintelligible syllables that neither of them understood. "Pathetic," Giln spat. "The sole survivor of a whole village and this is what you have to show for yourself. Whether they knew it or not Heksis, the people of that village died for you. You have a moral duty to avenge their deaths and bring to justice those that harmed them or die trying. Death isn't something to be ashamed of. It is a means to bring about change." He got off the bed and moved towards the door but paused before exiting. "When you're done here runt, come find me." With that, the door opened, and Captain Giln left Heksis alone with his sadness and confusion.

(Authors note: A billion Quintillion thank you's to FerrousReadingFF for the help with this.)


	7. Chapter 6 The Council

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Eliksni Council of Elders sat situated at the highest habitable point on Eliksnios, the arrowhead-shaped Mount Skola. The mountain had a lush forest at its base that extended three-quarters of the way up and then changed into craggy rock that smoothed closer towards the summit. The summit itself was largely flat save for a large complex of rectangular buildings connected by enclosed hallways minus one building. Isolated from the others sat a circular building with no discernable path from any of the other buildings to it. This circular building was the Hall of the Elders, a sacred meeting hall where the Councilors met and discussed political and economical matters between Houses. One house sat as the chair and directed discussion but whose vote counted just as much as the others. Currently, the House of King's Councilor, Talish the Wise, sat in the middle of his two-year term as the Council "Leader."

The chamber itself was largely polished wood collected from below and constructed as elegantly as the clouds that crossed the sky. A chair for each house encircled a pit used for presentations or hearings.

As of yet, there hadn't been a presentation today. Instead, a harsh debate over the recent attacks that now had a link between attack and attacker.

"I stated in my report, a trade caravan passed through the attacked village shortly after the attack. They arrived to the village about 7 Lavs after sunset. They contacted Council Protectors shortly after, who arrived and did a thorough search of the village. The inhabitants...had been butchered, most hadn't gotten the opportunity to defend themselves. Those who did...never managed to damage the attackers. Strangely...ashes were present near the bodies of those who had put up a fight, in one case...the Protectors present at the scene found that a pile of ash had a dagger stabbed through it. And...the only group known to leave ashes at a battlefield is the House of Wind. And...several dull fragments were found at the seen. One casualty was suffered among the Protectors when one attempted to pick up one of the fragments. The Protector died, however the reason why is unknown. After they gathered all the pieces, their investigators later determined that the fragments were pieces from some kind of large oversized sword. The autopsy is still being done to determine the cause of the Protector's death. The House Of Wind's honor guards...also happen to use large oversized swords, however from what I've known the only blades they use are made of hardened iron, rather than...whatever material the fragments discovered were made of. Examination suggests it to be made of bone...but no creature on eliksnios has black bones. None that we know of..." Viksis said, eyeing Kaltriz quietly, taking a moment to grab one of the tubes next to him and take a heavy breath of steamy white ether.

The Councilor from the House Of Wind froze for a moment at the accusation, probably thinking of the best way to respond, knowing her words would be speaking for all members of her house. The accusation seemed to upset her, the hair on the back of her neck stood up with agitation.

The Councilor for the House Of Winds stood up from her chair, standing tall, her posture straight, her eyes staring at the Devil Councilor.

"House Wind has no reason to attack the Devils. We have not waged a war against anyone for centuries! Our blades are dull, more effective as plowshares than as weapons of war. Our honor guards would never commit such an attack on innocents!" She proclaimed, speaking in a proud but venomous tone.

The male eliksni seemed to recoil slightly, pulling his mouth out of the clear tube, with a small amount of ether seeping out from the gap between his mandibles and the tube and flying up to the ceiling. He licked his mandibles in thought.

"In the past...your Kell has argued for the construction of a border to keep any Devil pilgrims from passing through your territory. Is that correct?"

"Yes it is. But why would they order an attack on a village? There is no motive for this attack, House Wind has no reason to attack anyone."

A small smile formed on Viksis's lips as he put his elbow on the arm of his chair and held his hand out like a royal ordering a servant, one of his bodyguards immediately put a large holopad in his open hand. The Kell took it and held it in front of him, reading whatever was written on the thin device's screen.

"There is a reason...according to this map...the attacked village is an intersection for three of the major travel routes between the House Of Wind's and the House Of Rain's territory. And the House Of Rain has a large number of travelers from my house...who happen to be making a pilgrimage to the Great Machine. Destroying this village would effectively lower the amount of travelers through your territory by 70 percent. Which would save your house the trouble of having to deal with as many travelers as you built your border."

The Councilor from the House Of Stone yelled out a loud immature

"BUSTED!" The Stone Councilor yelled out, his voice echoing throughout the room. Brevik was one of the youngest to be given a seat on the council, given the offer to be a Councilor only because of his remarkable gift with statistics. Silence filled the room, all the fallen turned to Kaltriz, who probably felt like she'd shrink with all the judging eyes upon her.

"I wasn't given any information from my Kell about his border continuing construction. He canceled it two years ago. However I do see your point Viksis." The vandal said, lowering her head submissively in an embarrassed sort of way as she sunk back into her chair.

Talish, the oldest of the Councilors, leaning back into his chair, nails digging into the tanned Juv hide as he thought, staring at the yellow banner of his own House of Kings at the side of his chair as if it would give answers or at least a hint as to what he should do. Seconds flew by like snow blown by the howling mountainside wind. Then he spoke.

"I believe you Kal. You have sat in this Council for a long time, and your mouth has never told me anything but the truth. However...Viksis has a good point. This attack has helped you by reducing the amount of travelers coming through your territory."

Kal maintained the submissive posture, looking down at the Councilor of the King's feet...with...what? Shame? Embarrassment? Fear? Kaltriz hid her emotions with the skill of a child, yet for that moment no one could tell how she felt. When she spoke, her voice was plain and stale.

"I am not aware of any command given by my Kell for the border to continue construction. And I know my Kell would never give the order to attack the village, and that the House Of Wind's honor guards would never carry it out if they were given it. I will immediately speak with my Kell and get to the bottom of this. I shall also hand over all my communication data. Will this satisfy the Council?

Viksis took another lungful of ether from the tube, handing the holopad back to his guard and leaning back into the chair in a lazy and carefree way. He took the tube out of his mandibles to speak.

"Works for me..."

The Rain's Councilor, Sahlin, spoke up. Her head was shagged and stained by droplets of melted water, which gave the hair on her back and shoulders a slight puff.

"Giving the data that will certainly clear the fog..." She said, speaking with the slowed tone of a poet. Her mere breath seemed to exhale her wisdom onto the Council.

The Councilor from the House Of Scars looked over to the King Councilor, speaking over to him in a tired sounding tone "We mustn't allow Kal to access any data. She may delete ones she wishes to keep secret from us."

Kasvis, House Of Winter Councilor, gave a small nod, agreeing with The Scar Councilor.

"Her voice certainly seemed surprised...but I agree with Sevis. We should prevent them from accessing any of their communication data to ensure it stays complete."

Talish nodded along with them, agreeing with the plan.

"Then we are all in agreement. I will have a Guard gather all the data from her ship. Kaltriz...you will stay here while they do."

The aged councilor gave a seated bow of approval, letting out a huffed breath as she did.

Talish seemed to be satisfied with her response.

"Good...This dissapearance is very similar to the ones we've had in the past months. Similar ashes were found at the villages. However none have ever left any weapons behind. And...none have ever left any survivors. Until now."

Kaltrik's upper shoulders seemed to perk up upon the news, surely believing that the survivors would prove the attack was not made by any of her people.

"Perfect. A witness can tell us what transpired, and confirm that this was not an attack by any members of my house."

"I'm afraid it is not so simple. The witness is but a child at 3 years of age. He was injured in the attack. He likely wasn't paying enough attention to give us any clear information...however we must gather whatever can nonetheless.

Sevis put his upper right elbow on the arm of his chair and holding his head up.

"Hm...What condition is he in?"

Talish seemed to speak of the witness as if he were one of his own. The King Councilor always did care too much about the value of life, especially for someone in his position.

"His leg was shattered during the attack. He was found under rubble. We have him scheduled for surgery in two days time."

The Devil Councilor spoke as in the same calm casual tone as he always did whenever he spoke. "Young bones heal quickly, I suggest we bring them before the Council. Time is of the essence, and it is our duty as Councilors to preserve lives whatever the cost."

Sahlin let out a ragged grunt, shaking her head left to right with distain.

"I disagree. The Council must rule with compassion."

Viksis: "True. But...You, like all the Councilors here have a firm understanding of sacrifice. Compassion is the love of others. Although the witness has been weakened by the attack...physically and mentally...as I stated, it is our responsibility to protect the lives of members of every house, at whatever the cost. Any information we can gain from questioning the survivor could save lives!"

Sahlin cowled under her breath, obviously disagreeing with this.

"A fair point...I am in agreement with Viksis. Whatever information we can acquire could save lives."

The Scar Councilor shifted his head to Talish. "Shouldn't we consult our judgement scribes before we make such a decision?"

The King Councilor shook his head firmly.

"They are not required for something like this-"

"They are only required for official matters. Plus...they'd only slow our decision down. Saving lives is always good. I can arrange for whatever medical treatment the boy needs to be paid after we have questioned him." Kasvis said, rudely interrupting Talish before he had the chance to continue. The interruption earned him a display of teeth from Talish, who obviously didn't appreciate the Winter interrupting him. The King Councilor was much larger than any of the other vandals, more muscular and tall, yet aged. The Devil Councilor's body had begun to grow taller as well, it seemed like he grew a foot every few weeks from that ether he was inhaling...

Talish closed his mandibles back up, satisfied with the display he'd given to the Winter about how he felt about interruptions.

"As you'd all expect...I disagree with this method. But the majority have spoken. And the majority has always ruled this Council. This survivor will be brought before us..." The Councilors tone was filled with shame.

Viksis detected the shame, immediately speaking up to the Councilor, this time changing his tone for the first time since this debate had commenced.

"It is a necessary evil Talish." His tone, which normally was casual and devoid of guilt, actually seemed to sound like he felt bad about this decision, but logic always ruled the leader of the devils, who had changed the role of Councilor, instead choosing to have the Kell of the House Of Devils have a seat on the Council. Probably motivated by the ether, which none of the other Councilors chose to indulge themselves in, except for Viksis.

Talish gave a slow nod of approval to the devil.

"Yes...but an evil nonetheless. I will arrange for the boy to be brought before us. We will see what information we can gather from him." Talish pulled a holopad from his thick fur robes, which was encased in polished hard wood. Which was a very exotic selection for a councilor.

The Devil Councilor seemed satisfied.

"And when we have the information, Kasvis will provide him the treatment he requires."

Kasvis nodded.

"And so I shall...I will have one of my Hands, Captain Giln, bring him to my personal ketch. He will receive whatever treatment he needs there after he is brought before us, including the surgery to have his leg fixed once again."

"That sounds like the best course of action." Talish muttered.

"Agreed." The Devil Councilor said bluntly.

"We must go easy on the boy. Don't yell at him, it might freak him out." Sahvin said, feminine worry coating her voice. She'd had children of her own, so she probably knew how to handle the boy best.

"I will do whatever gives me the most information in the quickest manner possible." The devil said plainly.

She let out a worried sigh. "Yeah...that's exactly what I'm worried about.". The devil gave her a look of disgust. Much like a few of the cultures from the House Of Winter, the culture of the House Of Devils valued strength over all else. Emotional and physical. Seeing the female eliksni show weakness...especially in her position, seemed to disgust him. But of course he kept it to himself.

Sevis didn't notice Sahvin's weakness. Instead he turned to Viksis, giving him a stern look.

"Frightening him would do us no good, it would only take us longer."

Brevik spoke up, the Stone Councilor standing up from his chair as he began to speak, facing Talish as he did.

"Why not just have one of our guards question him?" The young fallen asked, the furry gray mane hanging around his neck, still primed by his youth.

"You forget the rules Brevik. Only the Council can handle a situation like this. Having the boy speak to anyone else would allow someone involved in the attack to give us information that the survivor didn't actually say." Tal seemed annoyed by the young councilors inexperienced question.

"Understood." Brev said, giving a small bow as he sat back down.

An idea came to Sahlins mind shortly after Brevik sat down, which she believed would help gather information quicker.

"Perhaps I can handle the questioning King Councilor. You know I have experience with younglings. He would probably be much more talkative to me..."

Talish seemed to be pleased with that idea, knowing that having a much more friendly face question the boy would make him tell what happened quicker, but he still knew the rules, and looked over at the Councilors of the Devils,Stone,Scar and Winter. All nodded in approval. Talish felt the relief course through his body, terrified of the mental damage the four fallen could do to one so young if motivated by what they believed was the greater good.

"So we are all in agreement then, the boy will be brought before the Council, but only Sahlin shall speak with him. The rest of the Council will remain quiet and only watch and listen." Talish said, with all the Councilors nodding in agreement. They couldn't have Sahlin speak with the boy alone, because doing so would violate one of the rules of the Council. All Councilors must hear the witnesses of an attack speak, to ensure that no important details had been left or changed by the one who questioned the witness. Videos and recordings could be manipulated. The Council couldn't afford to hear anything but the full story.

Sahlin knew this fact, and the Rain Councilor couldn't help but to stare at the other Councilors of the Houses of Devil, Stone, Winter and Scar with a worried expression, knowing the patience of some was lacking.


	8. Chapter 7 Realization

CHAPTER 7

His leg had been given whatever treatment he'd needed. The limb had been operated on a couple hours ago by a group of doctors, who'd fixed up his leg to the best of their ability, piecing the bone fragments back together before covering it back up again and stitching the opening they'd made together. They'd wrapped the leg with rough white cloth, which squeezed his leg together so tightly that for a little bit his foot felt numb from the constriction, but the healers were kind, and they loosened it for him. Afterwards they'd put a hard plastic frame around the leg, which stretched everything below the knee out completely and made it straightened out, so much so that he couldn't even move it if he tried. It was a full cast, all the way down to the foot.

After he'd woken up a new nurse had carted him off to his room, still strapped to the gurney. The new nurse looked a lot younger than the other one and acted as if she were still new. She tried to look like she knew what she was doing, but there was a look of questioning on her face. Oftentimes, she would enter with with a little young gray haired nurse that helped the boy get used to the feeling of walking with the other leg as straight as possible before leaving and never returning, leaving him to experiment himself. Over a few days, walking returned to normal again, but it was more of a waddle now that the left leg was completely straight.

The healer left him in the room for an hour or two, before coming back in, two guards at his side. The guards were dressed the same way Giln's men had been dressed, gleaming armor on the body, but positioned so that it didn't impede the wearer's movement in any way. Suddenly, Dasia's scream bolted through the air so vividly that he was surprised that the three adults didn't even react to the noise, like they had heard nothing. Instead the doctor simply walked up to his bed, guards following behind him.

"Hi there...world standing still for you? We gave you some medication...I need to do a little test on you to make sure the meds didn't scramble your thoughts." The healer reached into the small pocket built into his wrinkled plastic coat, pulling a small metal rod out in front of Heksis, which was about the side of the boy's finger. The end of the metal rod that the man pointed at him was reflective, colored white and slightly transparent.

"Now...follow this light for me." The doctor said, with the calm and relaxed voice of someone who had done this a thousand times. He pressed a button on the end of the metal object, a bright piercing white light blasted him in the face, making him reflexively close his eyes in response for the first second before slightly opening his eyes again just a little bit, but the beam still dazed him.

"It is bright..." Heksis mumbled to the healer, who simply gave him a small nod in response. "Follow it," he repeated, beginning to move the light to the left, with Heksis slowly swiveling his head after it. They reached the left side, and then the doctor moved it over to the right side, Heksis following the whole time. He had a blank, expressionless look on his face as he did. The bright light disappeared with a click, and Heksis blinked the afterimage away.

"Okay...now let's start with your name..." The adult said, with Hek's ears hearing a small sigh from his throat. What did he want? He should say what he wants first.

"I wanna go home..." The boy muttered, still laying down on the bed with a plain expression on his face and avoiding eye contact with the doctor by looking down at their jacket. The leg felt uncomfortably numb, and Hek felt tired. Like he'd played all day, and now...he wasn't in his bed even though he wanted to sleep. He wanted to sleep. But his body felt like something didn't belong inside it. The doctor let out another near silence huff. Sad? Upset? Annoyed? He couldn't tell.

"Your home is moving." He said, still plain and robotic with his tone.

Moving? He didn't want to move...was his family coming with him? She needed to come with him.

"Is Kelvi coming? Her name is Kelvi she's my family." Heksis assumed the doctor could just magically find out if she was or not, from what he'd seen he was the highest ranking person here, all the other eliksni doing whatever he told them to. He didn't know any other information about his mother, only their name and what they looked like. But even that information was useless since he'd need to actually see them to recognize them.

"Uh...no she's not coming. Your file doesn't have any parents or guardians listed..." The robotic tone faded to one of annoyance, probably tired of the boys questions. Heksis detected it...it was the same kind he'd heard from Giln...when he told him that he hadn't found anyone.

"Then I'm not going anywhere." Heksis said, his head already lowering to the doctor's feet with a faintly worried look on his face. They sounded like Giln...they were probably going to do the same thing he did to him.

"You don't have much of a choice." That was the only response he got, no violent outburst or bloody head at his feet...just a simple reply. The boy let out a silent exhale out of his nostrils as he thought.

"Oh." The boy gave a relieved nod to the healer, glad they weren't going to do anything like the captain had done. "Okay."

"I'll be back in a little to bring you to them. Get some rest." And with that, the healer exited the room, their plastic jacket gently crinkling as they moved their body. The crinkle reminded him of his tomb, pulling images of cracked stone from his mind coupled with the piercing screams of the creatures above him.

The boy blinked a few times, let out a whimper, and settled down under the covers of the bed.

Heksis had dozed off a few minutes after he'd spoken with the doctor, his still-broken body covered up by the blanket with the upper part twisted over the top of his head, Beneath it, he created a small tunnel large enough for his whole face to peek through, giving him plenty of air to breathe as he slept. He slept peacefully, only letting out a soft gurgled bark every few minutes, pushing up the saliva that built up in his throat to his slightly open mandibles and letting it wet the plain white blankets of the bed. He'd thought about the entire ordeal he'd gone through for awhile before he'd fallen asleep, simplifying it in his mind so it was easier for him to go over. He didn't understand that the Council wanted to question him, only that he was being brought to them, perhaps to deliver him to his mother. His thoughts flowed inside his head.

He had been on the cliffside with his mother and her name was Kelvi and she was nice and she loved him. They went to a cave then a servitor came and then mom put him in the cave. Then, he saw...just purple. Yes...the world became purple for a second right before the cave collapsed down. That had to be it. Then he was stuck in rocks that had fallen on him since he was inside the cave when it collapsed. There was screaming above him, coming from something...It wasn't like him. Then he was dug up, and brought here...

Hek had gotten a few hours of peace in the bed. No dreams, no nightmares, just thoughts and blank sleep, devoid of anything substantial. The small blanket he'd pulled over his head had miraculously held. A couple small grunts escaped out of his throat as he returned to the world from his sleeping state. Unbeknownst to Heksis, what sounded like wood creaking echoed from behind the door, not an odd sound given the disrepair of the metal floor. But he did feel the gentle vibrations poking his side as footsteps walked toward him and as the door slid open, each step poking his side a little stronger than before, a clear indicator that whoever was walking was coming toward him. Before he could peek just one side of his eyes open someone gentle tapped the side of his head.

"Hey...Heksis. I need you to wake up now buddy okay?" A familiar voice whispered into his ear, the thin fabric of the blanket unable to keep the sound from passing through. An involuntary grunt escaped his mandibles along with a slurred, incomprehensible thought as he sat up.

It was the healer. "Hey Heksis. It's time for us to go."

Still groggy, he managed, "Where are we going?"

"We're going to speak to the Council. They need you to tell them what you know about the attack."

"I...I want to rest."

"You can rest on the way there. Very important people want to speak with you."

"I wanna talk with my mommy..." Heksis said, something hot and uncomfortable pulling the sleep out of him. The boy couldn't help but to pull the blanket over his head, as if not seeing it would make him wake up from this dream, staring at the ceiling of his room as he laid in a crib littered with toys. He felt the vibrations as the man walked out of the room, with two heavier people now walking in toward him.

Moments later, his bed was disconnected from the wall and wheeled out of the room by two figures dressed in gray clothing which had a ragged wool texture, with several heavy geometric metal shapes plastered onto their apparel. He allowed himself to peek out from under the blanket to see them.

"Where are we going?" He asked, but the guard didn't so much as look at him while he pushed the bed along. "You are coming to the Council to tell them what you saw." he stated flatly, his tone as stale as cold granite.

Heksis was curious what that meant. It sounded like a fancy word! Like "beenavolent" or "dehaidrated", but at the same time his mind stayed fixated on his mother, looking into the patient rooms as best as he could as they wheeled him down the hallway. She'd come pick him up and take him home again soon, the child felt sure of that. She would want him to be patient until then, she knew he'd miss her, and she knew he'd want to be with her again so he felt safe. She would come, he just had to wait.

"Try to remember the things you saw before we take you there. It should help make this go by a lot faster."

He exhaled a hushed and wimpy "Yes sir" to the guard, his broken Elik making the guard frown down on him with what seemed to be a look of pity. Pity? The boy didn't understand he reason why.

The guard took a curious look at him, seeing him as a broken child still full of fear and confustion. "It's okay little one...We'll figure this all out soon and then you can go home." he said in a naive attempt to soothe.

The second guard's voice, the one on Heksis' left, carried much more authority. "Stop your talking," he ordered. "And hurry up! The Council's almost done discussing trade between the core and Janus IV. If we're late Giln is gonna have our heads. I like my head where is it right now and I'm sure you do too." The pace didn't really pick up, and that seemed to steam the guard that had told the nicer one to hurry. Suddenly, everything stopped.

"I'm trying to go slow so he can relax on the way. Have you ever seen a pup when their woken up? If he was a few months younger he'd be squealing! Do you want to have to deal with that during the trip to Skola?"

"If it means staying alive, yes! Now gimme that!" the more aggressive guard ordered, and a small scruff was heard as the nicer guard was gently pushed away from where he'd been standing, still in view but away from where he'd been before. Their arms stretched out for a moment as they extended in frustration for a moment, yelling, "Hey!" in an angered tone.

"Take it up with your commanding officer Seva!" Hard vibrations on his back and leg hit him as the guard pulled him down the hallway to wherever they were going at what felt like a breakneck speed. Hek felt Seva's footsteps as they ran after him, exclaiming a short "But that's you." as he did.

The guard pushing the cart slowed down a bit, swiveling his head around. Heksis couldn't see it as well, and it just looked like they turned to the side, but he could tell what they were doing by the muscle movements near their arms. "Well, I deem the actions necessary!"

The first guard sighed before letting out a submissive "Yes sir...".

The guards didn't speak at all after that, keeping quiet as they carted him out of the hospital, up a rickety metal ramp, and into a glossy white room. Taking him to the Council to speak before them. Just then Heksis started to actually go through all the things he'd seen. And with that realization...the world wasn't so perfect anymore.

Authors note: I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY WITH SUMMER. My grandpa passed away from pancreatic cancer and I write this now shortly before going to bed in my grandma's home. She's still mourning and feeling lonely and needs my help with things. As much as I love this fanfic and all my readers, I need to put the happiness of my family before the fanfic. I have some free time though, and I will dutifully spend that time working on my fanfic and roleplaying with my friends. SureFireReadingFF may be helping me with the next chapter when Heksis meets the Council. I know having the story sort of stuck in the pre whirlwind era is somewhat boring but character development is my main concern for this fanfic and I thought it best to start my story out from the beginning. But I may do a couple time skips for the sake of your entertainment. That will be all. If anyone wants to speak with me more here is my email.

Adios


	9. Chapter 8 Halls of Grandeur

The flight on the way to meet the Council was definitely a strange experience for Heksis, having never flown on any vehicle before. His gurney was tightly strapped against the floor's metal handles, so he wasn't going anywhere. He was perfectly safe in this little room, which was still faintly illuminated by the gentle white light of the hallway. He wasn't afraid of the dark, despite his age. As a pup, he'd been exposed to plenty of dark rooms in the short, precious years he'd been alive. It was primal in a way, kind of reminding him of his own room. The cargo stored behind him was tied down to the floor just like his rolling bed was, so when the ship suddenly rose upward, whatever was in the crates fell back. Heksis fell back too, gravity pulling him backward as the ship gained altitude, with the only thing saving him from sliding out of the bed and slamming into the crates behind being the little hook he was making with his right foot, holding onto the railing at the end of the bed for dear life for a solid 3 minutes before the ship went back to normal, thunderous vibrations below him calming down to a light shiver that refused to stop.

He stayed like that for quite awhile, things seemed to slow down to a standstill without any stimuli to indicate the time of day, or anything else for that matter. Time didn't matter to him, its not like he chose to come on this trip of his own free will. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, eventually weakening to the vibrations by putting his head over a pillow, which seemed to dampen the engine's shivers for him. He didn't have any dreams during this nap, it was just plain, boring sleep. Despite what had happened, Heksis was too naive to believe that such things had occurred. That certainly kept the nightmares away. For now.

"Hey. Pssst. Little runt. Wake up." A familiar tone said from the left, which only barely managed to wake the boy up from his little nap. A cold sensation covered his back as the blanket was pulled off of him and thrown to the side. All Hek let out was an annoyed peep as his shoulder got grabbed and lifted up, roughly flipping him over on his back and waking him back up fully. Soon as he opened his eyes he looked up at the source of the voice with drowsy, puppy dog eyes. A tall, weathered adult came into view, cloaked in furred indigo blue robes that reflected the light seeping out of the now open door. He wasn't smart enough to remember faces very well, but if there was one thing pup's specialized in...it was voice recognition. And this voice? It belonged to Captain Giln. He almost started whimpering again, only being stopped by the sensation around him, or to put simply, the lack of sensations. No vibrating. No shaking. They must've reached their destination.

"Sleep well?" Giln said in a casual tone, a cruel heartless grimace on his mandibles as he looked down at Heksis. All the boy could do was give him a wide eyed stare, frozen in place like a prey animal. He didn't choose to reply, instead he simply let out a short sneeze as he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and lifted up from the gurney, a numbed sensation running down his spine as he was gently set down on the floor. His senses returning, he looked up at the captain. Giln replaced the grin with a plain expression. This didn't last long though when the adult squinted down at him, reaching down and grabbing him by the shoulder. They heaved him up, forcing him to support himself on his legs as they slowly softened their grip on him. When they let go Hek only let out a short squeak as he balanced himself, albeit clumsily

"I won't allow you to go speak in front of the Council of Eliksnios while _napping_ on a gurney you little fool." The captain hissed, holding a hand out as Heksis wobbled his cast around, still thinking he could move it somehow. This only awarded a small little chuckle from the adult as the boy grabbed onto their hand for support.

"You can't move it runt. Castes aren't meant to be walked like that. Keep it stiff. Use the other leg to move." They ordered, turning around and forcing Heksis to wobble behind as he was walked out of the cargo room. The boy followed along in the same clumsy, inexperienced manner. He still hadn't gotten used to it. Heksis let out a short "Slow down." to the captain as they made their way out of the hallway, took a left, and descended down the steep metal ramp. The ramp was an obstacle to say the least, and shortly after his first attempt Hek was holding onto the captain's arm for dear life, holding his caste in front of him as he hopped his way down, with the cold sensation of polished granite hitting his bare feet being enough to inform him that he'd reached the end. As he opened his eyes...the majesty of the palace before him sparked a burst of mundane curiosity.

The landing platform was a large, oval shaped area,covered in speckled, polished granite, with heavy railing fences all around. When it slowed...walking on the slippery floor must've been a nightmare. But the platform was of little concern. All he cared about was the gigantic entrance before him, only a small catwalk away from the where he was. The catwalk was the same as the landing platform, except a large triangular set of walls leaved against each other covering them up, obstructing the view. And it was gorgeous...

He didn't know where he was...but it was high. _Really_ high. Normally...sometimes at his home you could see the cloud just a few feet above his head. But this place? Here the clouds were far off in the distance, a massive mountainside barely in his view as he looked over the railing, which earned him a hard squeeze from Giln, and a stern growl as they pulled the boy closer to their side.

It didn't take long for him to be brought to the entrance. A massive, tall doorway with two soft metal Aviasni statues at the sides. A brown cloaked worker was busy repainting the left statue in a silver, reflective color, replacing the faded and worn paint from before. The majesty and grandeur of this place was unlike anything the boy had seen before. The captain only gave him a short huff as he took him into the buildings grand interior, filled with gorgeous paintings of vibrant, water colored mountainsides and flowing rivers that had signaled the end of the winter season's fury since the artwork's creation. Glass rectangular prisms filled with clear liquid. Dirtied gray stones stuck out from the beautifully crafted base of fluffy moss, which covered the short gaps and miniature valleys between the rocks. The stones had been carefully crafted into the shape of wide spires. A small pump carried sand from the small funnel out of sight behind the gorgeously crafted trees. This unseen um carried the silky grains of sand up into the back of the small cave that had been drilled into the side, lazily pushing the sand out which fell back down into the funnel behind the small jungle of tiny trees like a waterfall. These small arboreal lofts were just moss that had been attached onto the tops of the small salt stained twigs that stuck out from the powdered black substrate. The small balls of green moss had been trimmed and deformed into wide oval shaped canopies.

Heksis was captivated by the beauty of the sculpture, and when Giln maneuvered him to the side to get a closer look the boy made an excited squeal. A small fabric railing of red fabric had been deployed around the beautiful piece, supported by small little poles that had been placed onto the white stone floor. But the captain seemed to...wish to give Hek a better view of it...as if he himself had a fascination with the glass container's beauty. So when the adult grabbed him by the fluffy scruff of his neck and lifted him up from between his legs, helping the child onto the other side...Heksis could only make a short turn to look back at the captain, his fascination now shattered and replaced with confusion. He...helped him?

"This is called an _Aquascape_." He barked gently, raising a his upper right hand up and pointing to the aquarium. The pup didn't have the chance to ask why, Giln had spoken up already and given him his answer. Aquascape? A memory quickly popped into his mind, recalling a similar word his mother had once spoken about with a friend. _Landscaping_. They'd called it that. She'd told her friend that she could get the lava rock she needed at the landscape supplier in...Sinegosst. The name sounded strange in his mind, bouncing around like a toy ball before it eventually went out. The child brought a hand up to his ear after, as if closing a hatch that the weird word had escaped from. He shook his head afterwards, looking back at the sculpture. A small furry rodent came into view, flapping its bat like wings as if swam from the Hek's left and over to the other side. A thin reflective layer covered the creature's dark beady eyes as it swam through the heated light of the small lighting that had been hung from the ceiling above him. The strange creature was small, about the size of one of Hek's stubby little digits. It didn't pay it's observers any attention as it swam to the left side, curving its body as it went behind one of the small mountain shaped rocks and disappeared from view.

"What was that?" Heksis asked with an excited chirp, lifting a hand up to the 'mountain' that the creature had disappeared behind. He asked as if him asking the captain about it would make the creature appear once again. Giln only gave a short shake of his head in response, followed by a short "I don't know." as he reached down and picked Heksis back up again. As he was gently put down at the captain's side, his unbroken leg sticking down like a twig so he didn't hurt his caste...he felt a little reassured. If not in himself, than in Giln. Maybe he'll be fine after all...

Authors Note

WOW what a wait! Yes yes I know my lovely readers, Dumb Ol Pegleg sold out. Not while I still draw breath! My editor has gone a bit dark on me which has slowed my progress. BUT I prevail. I'm gonna work on improving my typing speed whenever given the chance, so hopefully I'll be posting more frequently in a couple more weeks! Btw. School is slowly killing me. Send halp.


End file.
